In Between The Lines
by Atlanticfire
Summary: Dr. Yeager, believing he could save humanity, gives Eren the power of Titans before birth. Unpredicted side effects lead to a very different world and a very different Eren. Can he choose between Humans or will he choose the Titans he grew up around? "You can't be in-between. You have to pick one or the other." Smart/Strong Eren! Hybrid Eren!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**In Between The Lines**

Summary: Dr. Yeager, believing he could save humanity, gives Eren the power of Titans before birth. Unpredicted side effects lead to a very different world and a very different Eren. Can he choose between Humans or will he choose the Titans he grew up around? "You can't be in-between. You have to pick one or the other." Smart/Strong Eren! Hybrid Eren!

Disclaimer: I don't own attack on titan, all copyrights go to the creator, whoever that genius may be. So yeah... I don't own it, I wouldn't be writing this story otherwise.

I wanted to expand on the concept of Titans and Titan Shifters. I hope to create a story that builds off existing information on the SNK universe with my own little twist.

XLine BreakX

Grisha Yeager sat in his office, located in the darkness of his basement, practically pulling out his hair. He eyes were fixed on the objects of his consternation.

A small bottle and a hypodermic needle containing a translucent red liquid.

The cup was easy to explain. It contained tea mixed with concentrated sleep inducers, enough to render one unconscious in seconds. They wouldn't remember being drugged.

The needle...was not so easily explained.

_What would everyone think of me if they knew what I intend to do?_

The sound of a door opening and foots falls shook him from his morbid musings.

"Grisha! I've been calling you for over an hour!" The enchanting voice of his wife and lover was thick with hormonal anger if her swelling stomach was anything to go by.

"Carla..." Grisha whispered breathlessly with tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. He didn't want to do this. He would like nothing more than just to take his wife upstairs and forget this, but he couldn't.

He couldn't for the sake of humanity.

"Grisha...are you ok?"

He shuddered when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder and suppressed a flinch when he saw the concern in her eyes.

He managed a weak smile, "Y-yes, I'm fine... Could you taste this tea? I think its a little strong." He hated himself for this. He hated making Carla worry. He hated lying to her face.

She frowned briefly, but it quickly turned into a smile as she took the cup in her hand and took a sip. "Its fine, honey. I don't know why..." He watched both with anticipation and guilt as she began to slowly droop her eyes in her obvious battle to fend off sleep.

"Carla, you look tired. Let's get you to sleep shall we?"

"Yeah, sleep so-." She never finished her sentence as dropped into his arms, indicating that she was now unconscious.

For good measure, he lifted up her eyelids and was somewhat pleased in his work when he saw no pupil dilation.

He picked her up in his arms, holding the capped needle between his teeth and went up the stairs, into their bedroom and gently placed her on the bed. His eyes lingered on her swollen stomach which contained a child-his child, he reminded himself-two months in the making.

_Am I really going to do this? There are so many variables-so many things that could go wrong tonight. Is it really worth risking their lives for this? _It was experimental at best, their was no other like it.

His eyes hardened as he removed the cap from the needle in his hand. _NO! if this serum works it could help prevent the deaths of thousands if the titans were to ever break the wall. This is the best choice for humanity... I'm so sorry Carla._

Taking in a deep breath, Grisha slowly inserted the needle full length into his wife's pregnant belly, taking care to be certain it reached the child inside.

He gently injected the serum, pacing himself with Carla's pained expressions, until none remained. He gently placed a linen foil to cover the needle mark afterwards.

Seeing his worked was completed, Grisha placed the empty syringe on the dresser and dropped limply onto his bed.

The crushing guilt intensified.

XLine BreakX

Looking back on things, Grisha couldn't believe how lucky he was to have Carla.

He'd told her that he had administered a vaccine for a coming plague and she hadn't questioned him even once. The level of faith never cease to amaze.

It was also a great source of grief.

How could he, her husband, lie to her so easily? Betray the trust she gave him? He could barely look her in the eye without flinching anymore.

XLine BreakX

Seven and A Half Months Later...

"I'm sorry your Carla. Theirs... Theirs nothing I can do."

Carla Yaeger stared at the little bundle in her arms and her heart broke. Wrapped in a simple towel, Eren Yaeger, son of Grisha Yaeger and Carla Yaeger, stared back at her.

His skin was dangerously pale and his eyes were neon green, she almost believed they were glowing, but what the focus of her sadness were his obsidian sclera.

"Theres gotta be something we can do! I-I can't lose my baby!" Carla's voice shook with desperation.

"I-I'm sorry, but the chances of him living passed three are almost zero. I couldn't find anything..." Grisha's fists were clenched and his expression twisted with self loathing as he locked eyes with Carla's desperate ones.

'This is my fault! I thought introducing the serum would help him and now he's dying!'

From the moment of his birth, Eren's body conflicted against itself. As the family doctor, Grisha learned only one thing; Eren's life was going to end soon, very soon. He realized that the two different gene types were having a negative effect on Eren, his immune system was attacking itself, he was circulating an unidentified blood type and the white blood cells weren't recognizing it. Eren's body would remain weak and feeble until he passed on.

The black sclera he was born with was a unique side effect, Eren's vision and senses were superior to that of humans. Ironically enough he'd never be able to leave his room.

He pulled Carla and his son into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Carla."

She locked eyes with his and pulled her husband into a kiss. "Its okay baby, it isn't your fault."

As she sobbed into the crook of his neck, she didn't notice him flinch.

_Yes, it really is..._

XLine BreakX

"Gahh!"

Jolting in his bed a six year old boy started breathing heavily due to the burning heat in his body. He looked out the window as he calmed himself. This had been happening rather frequently lately, he couldn't sleep, he had also been a lot less hungry in the past week. He understood what was happening to him. He knew his body wasn't born right, that going out of his room was dangerous most of the time. The sudden changes his body experienced were his body fighting itself up until recently.

His sickness was strange, as there would be jumps and drops in his health. On his best day, he could actually go outside if he wanted to, and see the beautiful world outside of the room he was in most of the time he got sick. On his worst days however, he rarely stayed conscious.

Going outside was a bittersweet experience at best. He could taste fresh air, feel the grass beneath his feet and the sun on his skin.

The problem were the people. His eyes served as a stigma amongst his peers. Everyone thought he was a demon, especially the Wallists. Apparently he was a "Evil Spawn" here to destroy the wall.

Eren snorted at the thought. People were ignorant.

Recently, his health dropped so low that the tears thought gone reappeared in his mother's eyes, and he started to have unexplainable seizures in which he thought his time had come.

He spared his hands a glance as he flexed them. Even when he was able to move his was weak.

_But now..._

He was more then healthy. It was disconcerting to see his body suddenly grow and he only got stronger every morning he suffered from a strange heat surge.

Much of what was happening puzzled him. Having been confined in his room for nearly his entire life, he had more time to develop his mind where his body lacked. His parents had bought several books ranging from biology to physics at his request and had surprised both his parents at how quickly he absorbed knowledge. Being chronically ill, it was only natural he was driven to understand just what was wrong and that was the problem; he still didn't understand what was wrong with him!

Everything about him defied what should be possible! He remembered when he'd seen a bird at his window and tried to reach for it, only to slip and hit the floor shoulder first. He remembered the fear when steam seeped out his arm before dissipating, leaving his arm in perfect condition. He'd been lucky no one saw him. His dad was out on call and his mother was at the market. After that he'd practically drowned himself in biology books trying to understand how that was possible, his mother didn't heal like that when she cut her finger cooking.

He learned that healing was determined by mitosis, the process of cell division. The only case where healing was instantaneous were Titans; the bane of humanity.

_"Daddy, what do you know about Titans."_

He remembered asking his father about Titans. He'd never seen him so serious.

_"Their monsters, Eren. They kill people. They can heal entire limbs in less then a minute. I've even seen them regrow their own heads, Eren."_

His jaw clenched, the wisps of steam healing his bitten tongue, pale skin, and black sclera made for a terrifying visage.

"I am not a monster."

Yet, he looked the part-even healed just like one.

He was different from everyone else.

Everything about Eren pointed towards him being a freak, an abomination. Alone in a world filled with normal humans.

"Different could also mean better."

Getting out of bed he grabbed a candle that was on his nightstand and maneuvered his way out of the pitch black room. Opening and closing his door quietly he began his slow descent down the stairs.

His room was one of two that were located steps away from the stairs on the second floor. The other belonged to his younger brother Cain, whom was five years younger than him at the age of five.

He pondered briefly how his family would react if they knew.

His mother probably wouldn't even care. After all, she hadn't been even slightly fazed by his eyes and skin. She was always their for him when he needed it, but she always had this look in his eyes that annoyed him. Pity, like he would break if she held him to tight.

Dad would want to study it. He shuddered uneasily. His dad felt like a stranger to him. He always avoided him and whenever he was lucky enough to talk to him he always flinched and excused himself. If he was honest with himself he knew next to nothing about him.

Cain was only a child, the only member of his family he totally got along with. Even as a weakened cripple, Cain looked up to him like a hero whenever he helped him learn a new word.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs he went to the still red coals in the fire place and re-lit the wick of his candle. He then proceeded to go to the wash room, where once inside his candle sticks light illuminated the room revealing a tub of water with a pump spout right next to it.

Washing his face with a handful of water, Eren looked into rippling reflection of himself.

He was nearly as pale as the moon. His eyes were completely black with the exception of his neon green irises. Black hair matted his head, thankfully it had never been greasy.

Sighing Eren grabbed the candle and walked out of the washroom. He paused when he saw something that surprised him.

The basement door was open, all the locks undone.

_That never happens... Dad always keeps that door locked._

Curiosity piqued, he opened the door completely and took the first step into the darkness of the basement.

"Ugh..." He gagged as an indescribable stench assaulted his nose; it reeked of stale air and decay. Eren was baffled how no one else had smelled this before, but wagered it had been a long walk down.

He immediately noticed body parts floating in jars, blood splattered the floor, a simple desk littered with documents, and a cold metal table at the center.

His father was in the room but his back was to him. He was leaning over some books and jars as he filled a syringe.

He decided to check the desk first.

Placing the candle on the desk mantle, Eren looked over looked over the documents until he saw a black journal labeled 'Newborn Project'. Picking the journal up gently, he skimmed the pages until he spotted something that made him uncomfortable.

It was a picture of him as a baby. He noticed the paper was littered with dry spots caused by tears when he saw

_"It was a failure! A complete and utter failure! Giving the Titan Serum early on didn't help Eren, it twisted his DNA! I thought giving him the Titan Serum earlier would give him time to adjust, but he wasn't ready for it and now I've ruined his feature. I'm a failure of a father..."_

Eren dropped the journal on the desk, his eyes wide. Shivering, he looked at his left arm, which was pale and muscular. Suddenly everything made sense. His parents' behavior, the pitying looks, the guilt they had shown when he talked to them, the isolation. They had known! Everyone had known! EVERYONE HAD KNOWN THAT HE WAS A HALF-BREED MONSTER AND NOBODY TOLD HIM!

Eren had to get out of here, or he would go insane. Already the urge to smash things was getting unbearable. He ran out of the basement, grabbing his jacket and scarf from the hanger.

Eren didn't care what else his parents had to say, he needed to be alone right now.

XLine BreakX

Eren was storming away. He had no goal in mind, he just had to get away. Fortunately, the guards watching this area had were always either drunk or unconscious. He was safe from their eyes, and seeing that it wasn't even 5:00 AMyet, the streets were practically deserted.

Eren left the main streets, where a few early risers, like bakers, were already up and about, and instead went into the darker alleys, where he was alone.

"I'm a fucking experiment and nobody tells me! Now it all makes sense. Why would they waste time talking to me, I'm not their real son. Why teach me, it's not like I'll be alive that long. Why bother caring for me in anything, it's not like he'll ever be anything! Let me read, it's not like I'll ever be able to perform anything!" Steam escaped from Eren's mouth where his teeth began to change, sharpening into canines perfect for ripping through flesh and bone.

He jerked as a pulse of heat spread throughout his entire body. Wisps of steam hissed through the pores of his skin as he entered a rage induced metamorphosis. His muscles tightened and enlarged, bones toughened and grew.

Contrary to belief, Eren was feeling relieved instead of pained. His body felt lighter, yet stronger in many ways. By the time the steam dissipated he felt like he'd just taken a hot bath.

He stood up shakily and noticed his pants still fit, nor had his scarf torn. He stretched uneasily when he saw how much bigger he was and turned to a window.

_No way..._

He was at least five feet tall, his skin was still pale, his eyes were the same with the exception of his pupil being slightly narrower. His hair was longer, just barely grazing his shoulders. He gasped when he saw his teeth, all set and sharpened like canines, his tongue was elongated as well.

He felt his stomach drop.

_No one will except me now._

... But then again, was he ever accepted in the first place? His parents were lying pricks who experimented on their kids and everyone else thought he was some demonic freak.

He glanced at his reflection. _Not that they were wrong..._

His eyes hardened as he came to a decision that would change his life.

"I need to leave The Walls."

XLine BreakX

Outside Walk Maria, Eren stood before the border of the forest with clenched fists.

He'd discarded his old pants for a pair of baggy black pants and shirt. He replaced his old scarf with a black one, he didn't need any reminders of his family. He also carried a large backpack packed with stuff he'd stolen only minutes ago. Some clothes, a pack of hunting knives, a flint, a few pieces of bread, and a large assortment of books on what he thought would help (gardening, hunting, woodwork, etc...).

he was surprised how strong he was, he had torn doors right of their hinges like it was nothing and the pack on his back weighed practically nothing.

_No use in putting it off any longer._

With a deep breath Eren took his first step into the wild...

...and vanished from the world.

XLine BreakX

_Nine Years Later..._

Breathing in the cool forest air, Eren couldn't help but to smile. He was free, alone to do whatever he pleased. No teacher to watch over him, no parents watching his every move, no glares or sneers from frivolous humans.

Completely free.

Standing at 6'5" with a lean, muscular build and a feral aura, fifteen year old Eren (He'd abandoned his last name) had retained his pale skin. His eyes were black with bright green irises and his pupils were slightly narrowed. Elf-like ears were mostly covered by his unkept black hair, which now reached his shoulders. The only clothing he actually wore were a pair of worn baggy black pants, he no longer required a shirt anymore.

Clawed fingers clenched excitedly as he wandered around the forest. Without any real thought Eren just began running as fast as he could.

Trees passed him in a messy blur as he let himself go, and the wind blew across his face just as it does during the bright morning sun.

It was so surreal, how light he felt. How good the wind felt brushing through his hair.

Running through the forest with absolute freedom Eren happily started laughing. He couldn't help himself to laugh when he was having such a great time.

He slowed down pace as he picked up the scent of oak.

_This is the place._

He went over to some branches on the ground. Picking up the branches, Eren decided that they were in fact the oak branches he wanted. So he put his backpack on the floor and started piling up as many branches as he could find.

Weaving around every oak tree he could find Eren picked up all the loose branches and dumped them in a large pile and dropped a length of rope next to it. He wanted to do something first.

Climb the biggest tree in the forest.

It was natural at this point. All he had to do was reach the first branch, which was about three maybe four meters high, and then it was a straight shot up all the other branches to the top.

A second, that's all it took for Eren to sprint to the tree. Using his momentum Eren jumped onto the trunk and ran another five steps before landing feet first on top of the first branch. But he didn't stop there, he couldn't stop there, he kept climbing up the tree in a flurry of grapples, jumps, and scrambling through the thick leafy clusters of branches.

The blur of motion cleared and Eren found himself on the very last branch of the large oak tree. The forest floor was about twenty meters below him, and the tree line around him was three meters below.

A sea of green that went on seemingly forever in the northern direction, and was cut off by the wall in the southern direction, surrounded Eren. Eren took in the site around him as he absorbed the warmth of the sun, which gave him a pleasant tingling sensation.

He learned, with time, that he no longer needed to eat nearly as much as a human would. Simply sitting in the sun could sustain him for entire days. Though he did still eat, he only ever needs it every couple of weeks. He assumed he, and by proxy Titans, fed off the sun like plants; the more he was exposed to it, the more energy he absorbed.

His hair whipped with the wind when suddenly it hit him. The mixture of copper and salt that always burned his nose.

Blood

A lot if the scent was anything to go by.

His eyes glinted with curiosity as he jumped down.

Eren pulled at the heat inside his chest and his world burst in a white explosion of heat and steam.

XLine BreakX

The Scouting Legion - a division of the military - is in charge of the exploration and the eventual reclamation of human territory from Titan-infested land.

Presently, they have been laying down supplies from the Wall Rose Trost District to Wall Maria Shiganshina District in preparation to seal the breach and reclaim Wall Maria.

They were led by their Commander, Erwin Smith. Standing six feet, his blond hair combed to the side, and his blue almost grey eyes were stoic and grim. He cared about all of his men, but he was willing to sacrifice them for the future of mankind.

Erwin leads the formation back to Wall Rose at Trost. They are almost out of supplies for this expedition, so they need to go back. It has been three and a half years since Wall Maria was breached, consequently losing all of the progress they had made outside of it. Now they have to retake the whole area between the two walls is they ever want to scout out there again. Though that will probably take a couple decades.

Erwin has seen more of the world than anyone inside the military, and yet from the legends he has heard, that isn't much at all. Flaming water? Saltwater? Frozen Earth? Lakes that cover most of the world? All he has seen are forests and the occasional lake. However little he has seen, he still wants to share it with the rest of humanity. He wants to save it from despair, from annihilation, from the Titans. He will do whatever it takes to make sure humanity will be safe outside the walls.

He is broken from his train of thought when Mike Zakarius rode up to him and sighed. "The fourth squads been cut off."

Mike Zakarius was a strange man. He has a habit of sniffing anyone he meets for the first time. Then... smirking for some reason. He does have a really acute sense of smell, able to smell Titans and other things from miles away. He had an apathetic look on his face and lazily half-lidded eyes. His hair was dirty blonde, and a light mustache and goatee. Erwin, amongst many others, considered him to be the third strongest man in the Legion, just under Levi.

Erwin grimaced, "Can we afford reinforcements?"

Zakarius shook his head with a tired look in his eye. "No, too many Titans to take on. Even for us. From what retreating riders saw most of them are either dead or just about."

Erwin's jaw clenched and he glanced to the western wing of their formation.

_Hanji..._

His grip tightened around his reigns before he pulled out his smoke flare gun, aiming it to the right and fires. A red smoke flare is expelled alerting the formation to retreat-they couldn't handle a Titan ambush, especially without the western wing. Follow up flares from the rest of the formation show their understanding as he tugged the reigns of the horse to the right.

_What will I tell Levi?_

He had to make the hard choices. Not the right ones. He just sentenced dozens of lives to death.

_Such is the burden of leadership..._

XLine BreakX

Hanji smiled despite the steaming blood on her face. She hooked on to the tree branch next to her and turned to get the perfect angle to slice open the nape of the 10-meter Deviants neck. As she drew near, it ducked. Hanji sailed past over head and landed gracefully on a trees surface.

Hanji frowned at the titan, "Hold still! This'll only hurt for a second!" she scolded as it the fifteen meter Titan was a child. As she readied her blades for a second attack, the Deviant tried to slap her down.

In an impressing display of acrobatics, she back flipped and retreated a few feet. The Deviant reached out and snagged the wire as she went to retreat; causing Hanji to jerk violently.

The Deviant raised the woman up, hanging upside down by her wire, until she was leveled with his eyes.

"Oh, so you're going to eat me big fella?" She asked as she fixed her glasses, seemingly oblivious of her impending death. Suddenly a large fist impacted the Deviants skull, shattering it on impact.

XLine BreakX

_Moments Ago..._

Eren frowned within the confines of flesh incasing him.

Changing had always been natural to him, like having an extra skin. He didn't know how it happened at first, he simply woke up a giant, a terrifying experience honestly.

Apparently, he had a sort of core he could feel inside him, he'd taken to calling it his "Inner Flame". The "Inner Flame" allowed him to tap into another form, where he was no longer hindered by human genes. It was stunning to see how he could generate an entire Titan, let alone control it from within the nape of its neck.

_Ah, the possibilities..._

Closing his eyes, he shook his head and took a deep breath.

Their was so much blood.

He hadn't had trouble finding the humans, the trail and mutilated bodies had seen to that.

He didn't hate humans per say, he just disliked them. The only human he truly loved in this world was his brother.

Hisses of steam escaped his lips as his gargantuan form sped up. He picked up the sounds of shouting and zeroed in on it.

He eventually reached a clearing and spotted a Deviant holding up a human.

A second later his fist was lodged on its face.

Hanji's body exploded in pain when she was sent careening into the ground below. Her spine shunted against a tree violently. She bit back a scream when she tried to move. _Definitely broke something..._ She looked towards her attacker and her heart stopped.

_W-what...?_

Hanji's eyes widened in awe at the sight before her. 15-meter Eren, composed of Titan stared down at his latest victim. Eren's appearance was altered drastically. No longer was he made of skin with easily-noticeable veins that pumped blood throughout his body. He was now completely comprised of exposed muscle and bone.

His teeth were longer and more jagged. They could easily penetrate a nape without requiring too much effort from the jaws. The face of his skull could be seen with streams of flesh layered across it. The flesh shaped itself around his eyes, which were pure green.

The Deviants nape was crushed under Eren's heel with little effort, its body was already evaporating at a rapid pace.

"W-what?" Hanji began, leaning back against the tree. "It knows the weak spot?"

Hanji looked at the muscular titan in confusion and awe; the entire time it had been proving itself to be several legues ahead of it's brethren! It was a Deviant unlike any she had ever seen, she couldn't let an opportunity like this slip out her fingers!

"Hey! Why aren't you going to eat me? Do I not look tasty?" She called out to Eren's back. Eren looked around quickly to make sure that there weren't any titans in the area when he heard the woman shouting at him. Was she insane? Why didn't she just get out of here before titans showed up.

Eren looked back at Hanji; causing her to take a step back. Her 3D maneuver gear had been slightly damaged by the Deviant yanking it and she wouldn't be able to repair it in time to get away. She was actually starting to wonder if getting his attention after was a good idea.

He stared.

A human. A female to be exact.

But they were so tiny. Eren knew that meant they were young. So young.

She pressed herself against a tree, straightening her bloody back and trembling with pain, curious, awed eyes locked onto him despite her decrepit state. Eren felt something in him ache at the sight.

Carefully, he reached out and wrapped a hand around her. She shifted in his hands and winced when his hand moved the wrong way.

When she was lying flat in his hand, he stood and continued on. He felt them trembling against his skin, and he knew she would need medical attention soon, she would not survive long without it.

Hanji looked at the hand carrying her in surprise and puzzlement before looking back up at Eren's piercing green eyes. "You won't eat me will you?"

Eren shook his head no causing Hanji's jaw to drop. "You understand me?! Oh that's simply amazing!" she squealed excitedly,

"Calm." Hanji froze in her rant, to shocked that a titan had actually spoken to even think to jump around or to shoot off questions.

"Wha-what was that?" She asked as she turned her wide eyes to her newest friend and savior.

"Sleep." Eren sighed, a good bout of steam accompanied it. Talking in a body without the right vocal cords was difficult.

Hanji was too stunned to speak, so she nodded her head mutely and soon enough, the darkness of sleep claimed her.

Looking at the little human in his, Eren had the feeling any sense of peace in his life had just ended.

_It was fun while it lasted..._

XLine BreakX

Okay so I'm going to explain a couple of things so were on track.

1. Eren IS NOT A TITAN SHIFTER! I decided that the "Titan Serum" which creates Titan Shifters replaces a small portion (about 7%) of their DNA because they've mostly developed. So when Eren was injected whilst he was still developing early on in the womb, the serum had a lot more room to integrate itself, it replaced about 45-50% of his DNA. So not only is he more proficient in Shifter abilities, he gains several Titan traits amalgamated with human ones, hence the superior senses and physical capability. I haven't given what he is a name yet, but he is essentially a perfect hybrid in between Human and Titan.

2. I know the ages are going to be off with Mikasa, so I decided that Eren was born two years earlier then the Canon and Cain was born when Eren was supposed to.

3. Him being that smart does make a fair amount of sense. If you had nothing to do but sit in bed for your whole life and had augmented memory, you'd be intelligent to. That, coupled with his ridiculous level of drive can create a genius.

4. Eren will leave. It's an inevitable result of circumstance and an obviously important part of this story. I won't reveal anymore for now, but the story gets into gear with this decision.

If you have any questions, just IM me and I'll post a response in next chapters footnotes.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**In Between The Lines**

Disclaimer: I don't own attack on titan, all copyrights go to the creator, whoever that genius may be. So yeah... I don't own it, I wouldn't be writing this story otherwise.

Hercules8: This is a very cool and interesting story! I like with what you done with Eren, giving him super strength and superior senses, also the ability to turn into a titan. The only question I have is Eren and Mikasa going to get together? :)

Answer: The pairing, if you hadn't caught on after this chapter, has been decided. I've already created a background between Eren and Mikasa, it just hasn't been revealed yet. I'm willing to take suggestions, so maybe I'll set up a poll soon.

Silverscale: Thank you! That solves a few problems for the story!

I posted this one a bit faster then I usually, bit the concept of this story just inspires me in so many ways! Enjoy the chapter!

XLine BreakX

_I can't believe I'm bringing her here..._

Eren sighed as he gently carried the female in his arms bridal style down a dark tunnel that had only a few torches scattered along the wall down its length, leaving large pockets of shadow. After a couple minutes, they eventually reached a large open chamber.

Taking up most, if not all, of the chamber was a large, natural pool of cool, crystal clear water that was easily two hundred meters in diameter with a circular opening in the ceiling directly over it almost a hundred feet above that was only about seventy-five meters across. Sitting in the center of the pool was a fifty meter wide island of smooth dirt he plowed by hand with a narrow path of smooth river rocks leading from the shore in front of the tunnel to the island and from the back of the island to the other side of the lake. Two iron posts stuck out of the rock at one side with a large hammock hanging from them while what appeared to be an anvil, a hammer, a pile of unshaped metal, and a pile of random metal objects sat off at the other end of the island. Hanging from the edge of the hole above the island were innumerable leafy vines that nearly reached all the way down to the water, creating a privacy curtain of sorts around the island while even more vines stretched out across the hole to the other side, creating a natural screen of shade that kept the lighting at a comfortable level. Another tunnel at the back of the chamber, couldn't be seen beyond the black bear fur veiling the opening; his home.

Eren felt some of the tension release from his muscles at the familiar paradise of sorts.

_No place like home._

That's what this place was. Home.

"Fenrir! Freya!" Eren called with a large smile as he entered the cavern clearing. "We have a guest!"

Fenrir was the first to respond to his master's voice and quickly sped over to the boy; the large black wolf, who was well over a seventy pounds of muscle, happily bounded up to Eren, stopping in front if him, barking excitedly as he stared at the woman in his arms. Freya trailed behind the male wolf, her slightly smaller white form trotted with something skin to elegance, though the sharpness in her eyes never wavered.

Eren smiled at the pair, "Our new guest is injured and will be here for the foreseeable future, so don't mess with her, ok?" Both wolves nodded and Eren's lips twitched at the adorable display. "Thank you. You can roam for awhile, but be back by dawn alright?" Without bothering to answer, both wolves bound out of the cavern at high speeds.

Eren sighed. As adorable as they were, they were very rude at times.

He reached the edge of the lake and gently set her down on her stomach, turning her face to the side, he removed the glasses so they wouldn't break.

He leaned down to peer at the form before him. But what the rays of sun allowed him to see pursed his lips in a frown.

The woman lying down was hurt, severely so. She was only slightly tilted to the left by a dislocated shoulder. Eren touched her neck searching for a pulse and found one almost instantly, but it was weak and irregular. The person was alive, but given the state of her back, he could hardly believe it. The skin on her back seemed swollen, bruised in some spots and literally lathered with blood in others with disfiguring swelling almost all over her back. But the bruises were not the worst by any means, despite the raw and red look they seem to be in a somewhat visible stage of healing, though not by much give that the wounds seemed to be infected severely and the parts that were not red were either bruised in purplish yellows or deathly pale, almost grey; he also assumed she must have bled profusely. Larger mounds of swollen flesh dangerously close to her spine pointed to one thing; contusions. All in all, it was a miracle she was still breathing.

He wouldn't have even been able to tell what shade her natural skin was if it wasn't for the fact that her frontside was relatively uninjured. She looked more like some disfigured monster, a hulk of distorted swollen and battered flesh aborted by some horrible mistake of nature that had just some vague resemblance to a human, even her garments seemed to add to the monster story feel-the clothes covering her back were no more than shredded and washed out rags clinging to her body like the grass that was tangled in them, her shoes were fine, if a bit worn. She had the remains of one glove still tangled in his right hand and only the watch and a button or two seemed recognizable.

It took a few moments for him to snap out of the shock but soon Eren realized he had to do something.

In moments he was in his bedroom, searching his way through a set of shelves containing things like clumps of iron to small flintlocks, but the object in mind was a satchel with a red cross displayed.

He went back into the cave with inhuman speed and reflex and, once inside, he pulled a blanket from the satchel and spread it out, then he walked to the woman and, upon uttering a small unheard apology, stripped away the shredded clothing and undergarments before proceeding to lift her up and gently dip her body back first into the water. He focused his Inner Flame into his hands and soon enough, the warmth spread into the water until it bubbled.

Eren grabbed a rag, dunking both into the crystalline water and began the slow task of cleaning her.

Eren started scrubbing the cloth on her left arm, making his way down her underarm, followed by the other arm, back (which had taken nearly an hour to clean without causing further injury. Her unconscious fidgeting hadn't helped.), chest (Avoided the breasts, he wasn't a pervert.), neck, face. Working on the lower half was a lot less of a struggle, she barely moved as he scrubbed down her legs, butt, and private regions clean.

By the time he finished, his face was making the fair impression of an apple. For all his maturity, he was still a hot-blooded teenager.

_Damn hormones._

Not that he could be blamed, she was undeniably beautiful, even if she was human. She was petite with wide hips, but the defined muscles on her body told him she was by no means weak, even her butt was muscled. Her mocha skin complemented her chestnut hair and matching eyes (He knew, he checked.). He couldn't help but glance at he perky B-cup breasts and felt his blush increase at the sight of pale nipples. His pants tightened and he groaned in frustration.

_Its gonna be a long day..._

He lifted her out of the water, pulled a towel from the satchel and dried her off before placing her in the spread blanket.

After he stretched his stiffening limbs, he picked up the satchel on his arm and lifted her up with the blanket and took her into his room.

"This better not blow up in my face..." Eren grumbled quietly to himself as he pushed aside the bear fur covering the entrance to his 'home', seeing as the underground lake and island were more like his 'front yard'. The main chamber was more of a den with three extra chambers attached to it that made up his bedroom to the left with a bathroom, a kitchen and dining room in the back to the right, a currently packed and furnished 'store room' of sorts set up in the back on the left with an assortment of things of its own, and his study/library to the right. It had taken quite a bit of work and some troubleshooting when he first 'moved in', but his place had running water from streams he'd excavated, which to say, was incredibly difficult. However, his furniture was all hand-made by himself, most of it being nothing more than animal furs sewn together and stuffed with cotton to form large cushions, having never liked regular furniture to begin with.

Going to his bedroom, which had a massive and thick black wolf-fur cushion sitting off to the back left corner of the chamber that was twice as big as a King-size mattress made of a pair of bears with numerous wolf-fur pillows of varying shades of grey and white piled on it, Eren layer her face first on his bed and unwrapped the blanket.

He opened a small can he retrieved from his satchel, which now was on the edge of the bed. It contained a strong unpleasant smelling dark green paste that always burned his nose. He rarely ever used it, he healed very quickly, but as much as he despised his father, he understood the uses of medical knowledge. This was a strong healing ointment he created around two years ago, a recipe that mixed purified mineral waters, strong herbs and plants, berries, honey, plant oils, and flower pollens. Eren was happy to rarely have to use the icky stuff but he was grateful that it worked and was very strong, unfortunately he would have to suffer the burning sensation to his sensitive nose.

He slowly and carefully turned the woman over and rubbed the paste on the woman's wounds, with particular care on the contusions. Once the entire back side of her body was done, she set out the bandages over the blanket and with extreme care rolled her over them, she then proceeded to wrap the bandages two times over, coincidently covering most of her chest.

Sighing to himself, he dropped into the wolf cushion in the corner of his room, he let his body relax as he eyed his new guest.

She was lucky there were no major injuries to her spine, granted, there were a few close calls, but nothing that would leave her paralyzed or anything. Hell, esthetically speaking, she'd make a full recovery give or take a scar or two.

For a moment Eren criticized himself for such thoughts, the woman had suffered a fairly close call with death if he hadn't arrived and here he was calling her lucky that she wasn't a cripple.

Eren left his room, confident his guest wouldn't wake up before he returned. He cursed, however, when he saw the dying sun.

"It almost sunset and I've still got work to do. Shit." Eren spoke tiredly, but none the less made his way to the exit, an empty burlap sack in hand.

Luckily, Eren was more than used to traveling alone. The first thing he did was collect the oak branches and rope he'd left earlier that day. A simple pair of knots secured them on his back rather easily. With one task completed, Eren set out to hunt for supplies. It wasn't such a hard task, the forest was quite rich in edible plants and in the nearby grasslands he found wild carrots, edible berries, large fruits and even honey, though the bees were a pain in the ass. He avoided wildlife, he didn't want to endanger the population with his hunting. Three more months should be enough time.

He counted himself lucky that he lived near a large spring! He had also found healing herbs and other compounds he would need to make compresses for his wounded patient.

By sunset Eren was back in cave, he had settled everything in his bedroom, where a small hole he dug served as a fire pit, releasing the smoke into the cave tunnels above. He figured the quantity of greens be sufficient enough to feed them for a couple of days. He stored all the food and reserves in the storage room, she had piled the firewood and kept the fire running to keep the woman warm, he roasted carrots, some leftover fish and wolf meat and had himself a decent meal. Now he was making a rich fish and carrot broth that, after cooling somewhat, she proceeded to slowly filter into the patients mouth, trying to coach her unconscious body to accept the nourishment. It was a daunting and lengthy task and half of the broth was lost but he succeed in feeding her a little, just enough to keep her body running without turning her stomach after what had probably been a long period of starvation.

The moon was high in the sky by the time she finished and cleaned up and by then the hybrid was running on fumes, doing his tasks automatically with leaded limbs and his mind practically dozing in and out of consciousness. It felt like he hadn't slept in years, though it was just about forty hours, albeit forty hours with anxiety, Titan Shifting and exhausting periods without sunlight to energize him. He wrapped himself in the shaggy spare blanket he carried and cuddled not far from the bright embers of the fire, and before he could even set his head on the makeshift pillow that was his satchel, he had blacked out.

This had become his daily routine for the following week.

XLine BreakX

Warmth. So much warmth. But she was shivering. Why was she shivering? Hanji let out a soft hum as melted into the warm feeling against her body, tiredly noting the tightness of her chest. Her body convulsed with a haze of pain that made her twitch. She stayed where she was, trying to make sure she was breathing properly. Her breaths came a little fast, but they came. She wiggled her toes and fingers, finding that they tingled a little but felt fine. She swallowed hard, wiggling a bit before she realized just how warm it was.

Then she felt the pressure of a warm hands on her shoulders. Her bare shoulders. Her eyes snapped open, turning her head and saw nothing but pale skin. She gasped faintly and tried to push back, but the grip on her shoulders tightened.

"I don't think you should move. No need to injure yourself more than you already are." His full lips parted to released a soft and smooth voice.

"W-what...I-injuries?" Her throat was sore and talking hurt.

"Severe bruising all along your back and a couple contusions, not as severe as the bruising, but their still too close to the spine for you to move without repercussion."

She blinked in surprise. When had this happened? The last thing she remembered was a roar...a jerk...and...

She gasped.

"The Titan!" Immediately, a light stinging pain blossomed in her and she couldn't hold back the cry that escaped her lips. The hands on her shoulders held in place, strong and unflinching.

Mustering her minuscule strength and peered at her apparent savior.

His deep green and black eyes were staring down at her and she found myself frozen in place by their concerned intensity. His cheeks were as muscled as his body, but were slender and gave to a nice jaw line and chin. His nose set perfectly on his face and his hair was jet black, falling against his forehead and cheek. His ears were long and pointed, buried beneath ebony locks. But those eyes. She had never seen anything like it. How did they get that way?

"The Titan..." She gasped once again, her eyes widening as the hands pressed a little harder against her shoulders.

"I'm not something you need to fear." His voice was softer, apart nervous.

She looked at him like he was crazy. "Scared? I'm ecstatic! How did your ears get that way? Why is your skin so pale? Do you know what happened to that Titan earlier? How..."

Eren sat back, dumbfounded by the complete dismissal of his appearance. She was 'ecstatic'? Was she mad? He sighed, twitching slightly at the delighted squeal at the sight of his teeth.

_Just my luck. I saved the crazy one._

Against his better judgement, Eren's body relaxed and eyed her with a particularly curious gaze.

"... Why am I naked?"

His guest finally realized she was laying naked in a rather warm bed with nothing but bandages between him and her modesty.

He noted, with some amusement, that her cheeks were slightly reddened.

"Your old clothing was shredded by the fall, and I don't have any other clothing for girls your size..." He trailed off and looked at her questioningly.

She recognized the expression. "H-Hanji, Hanji Zoe."

Pale lips curled in amusement. "My name is Eren. Come. Sit." Newly named Eren turned her over and lifted her up with surprising gentleness as he took a seat on a large, cushion she realized, was made of animal pelt at the edge of the bed with his legs crossed under him and his hands folded in his lap, his knuckles pressed together; just as he always did when he practiced with his Inner Flame. "You asked what I am, correct? I call myself an Olympian, from the Forbidden Books that spoke if Titans as giant monsters. Their children, the Olympians, rose up against them and defeated their predecessors. I figured it accurate enough considering I am essentially Half-Titan."

"I-I see." Half-Titan? Hanji was having a hard time stopping herself from jumping him right their. "How exactly does being being a Half-Titan work? They don't have any reproductive organs, how could you have been conceived?"

Eren's body quivered slightly, small hisses of steam escaped his nostrils, surprising Hanji with the display. "I was conceived by two humans, just as you were. My father did this to me. He gave some type of injection when I was still in the womb. I was born weak, my body fought itself for most of my childhood." His face twisted into a snarl."I was a science experiment! My parents looked at me with pity because they did this to me and THEY SAID NOTHING! I WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE WHEN I WAS THREE AND THEY JUST-!" A geyser of steam escaped his maw, making Hanji shutter as it made contact with her skin. Eren's fists clenched and he took deep calming breaths, the heat under his skin lessening to its normal warmth.

Hanji shifted uncomfortably on the bed. She couldn't believe a father would do that to his child. It was insane! Sure she was a bit...strange, but she wasn't so deprived that she experiment in her own child, let alone any child. She supposed he was justified in his hatred. She'd hate someone if they crippled her to.

"So... Olympian, huh? Its...fitting."

He chuckled wryly, "Yes, it is, isn't it?." He stared at her for a long moment. "I admit, it is...pleasant to talk to someone that can talk back, wolves make for a one sided conversation here."

"Wolves?" Hanji lips twitched into a smile, "I suppose they would." She looked around the cave she was in. "Where exactly is here, if you don't mind me asking?"

He snorted, "We are several dozen miles from The Walls If that's what your asking. I would take you back, but I'm not so sure they'd react to well if you know what I mean." He gestured to himself with a deadpan expression, to which Hanji giggled. "We're in a set of caverns in a canyon I found a few years back. The most beautiful place I've found to date." He tone softened with the mention of his home. He loved it. A lot. "That reminds me..." His eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What possessed the Survey Legion to come this far out? Only slavers come out here this time of the year." Eren suddenly spoke up with a slight growl to his voice and a scowl, the woman jumping slightly in a surprise.

"I-I don't know if you're aware of who I am, but I..." Hanji trailed off a moment later in a rare and unseen moment where her usual self-confidence and bravado wavered. A moment later, however, she regained her determination and continued. "I lead the Fourth Division of the Scouting Legion on an expedition into the Titan Forest."

"...So what? You want a metal or something?" Eren growled out sarcastically with annoyance, something that made Hanji's blood boil before she forced herself to calm down. She knew it was just a self-defense mechanism, having been around Levi taught her that. His, though, just seemed to be able to get under her skin a whole lot quicker than her grumpy friend. "Look...Hanji, was it? Humans make these expeditions all the time and they can barely make it twelve miles without being decimated. It's not like anything can be done about it now and to be completely honest, if I knew then what I know now, I would have told you to fuck off because humans are cruel creatures."

"Why you..." Hanji growled quietly, finally losing her cool and marching up to the giant that tried to turn around and head back outside, only to grab his arm and turn him back around, glaring up at him as she stood no more than only a few inches away from him while restraining herself from simply punching him in the face. "I was going to try and see if you wanted to be friends, asshole, but you're nothing more than an ungrateful bastard that doesn't know when someone is trying to be nice to him even if that kindness came up and bit him in the ass!"

"..." Eren stayed quiet as he stared down at her with a blank expression while Hanji started to calm back down, only to realize just exactly what she had said and suddenly wanted to do nothing more than to either shrink into herself or be as far away from the Olympian as possible. That was when he reacted in a way she most certainly had not expected; he started laughing. It wasn't exactly a cruel laugh or even a genuinely happy laugh; it was more of a humorless, sarcastic laugh one would let out after discovering some sort of ironic truth. After a few moments, he finally started to quiet down and wiped an imaginary tear from his eye before giving Hanji a sharp toothed grin that made her a bit nervous. "That was a good one. Your honest opinion is all I want. Only one other person I've met never had the spine to stand up to me like that and I've got to say... I kinda like it."

"...Huh?" Hanji mumbled quietly in confusion and shock, Eren's reaction having thrown her for a loop and promptly ceased all of her higher brain functions. As Eren walked around her and started heading towards his island, Hanji was slowly regaining the ability to think, gradually coming to realize after a few seconds that Eren had been testing her will and constitution. In simpler words, he was wondering if she'd just roll over and submit or stand her ground and strike back. What she didn't realize, however, was that Eren was actually telling the truth when it came to humans. Snapping back into focus, Hanji spun around and jogged to catch up to Eren just as he reached the curtain of vines, using his hand to gently part the natural screen so he could enter his actual sanctuary, even going so far as to politely hold the vines to the side so that Hanji could follow behind him. Looking around, Hanji found herself lost in the natural beauty of the environment once more. "What is this place?"

"Didn't you already ask that? Whatever. I found this cave when I fell off a cliff five or six years ago. Since then, I carved a few rooms out of the rock in the back to make an actual home for myself while this here is my personal safe haven; my 'happy place', as it were." Eren explained while walking over to his hammock and lying down in it, relaxing with his hands clasped together behind his head while he stared up at the tapestry of vines closing off the hole above them. A little surprised by the Olympian's response, Hanji leaned against the pole at the end of the hammock Eren's feet were at. "Did you know that you're the second human that I've actually allowed to set foot on this slice of paradise since I found this place?"

"Why am I so special?" Hanji asked while looking away in order to hide the faint blush on her cheeks, but she couldn't figure out why she was so affected by what he said. Without moving from his spot, Eren casually shrugged as best as he could in his current position.

"I don't know. I guess it's because you're the second person to actually stand up to me like that." Eren responded off-handedly, but Hanji could tell he was being truthful. What he didn't tell her, though, was that it was mostly because she hadn't been judgmental about his appearance. "People are usually intimidated by my size or my looks and, thus, tend to run away or try a kill me, especially after they find out just how strong I am. Because of that, I guess it's just sort of refreshing whenever someone stands up to me. It keeps me level, you know? Really, I only respect strength now and cowards just piss me off."

"...You're unlike anything I could ever have imagined." Hanji spoke up after a few moments of silence, her statement getting a cocked eye brow from Eren as he glanced over at her. "Granted, I've rarely seen anything aside from us humans and a handful of Deviants, but I'm honestly shocked stupid by you; the evolution between a human and a Titan, an Olympian, the strengths of both races and the probably the weaknesses of neither. You are probably the most powerful being I've ever met. So why do you stay cooped up in this cave away from the world? You could save thousands of lives easily!"

Hmph." Eren snorted, causing a small wisps of steam to escape his nostrils as he turned his gaze back to the ceiling of plant life. As he did, his eyes became a little unfocused and cold, his tone growing a bit emotionless as Hanji turned her head to look back at him. "So you want me to go back too, huh? Not surprising. Your too much like her sometimes." Hanji thought she saw a flicker of mirth in his eyes, but it left as quickly as it came. "You know, I used to live in Shiganshina district when I was young. The few times my body was strong enough to go outside I'd see the Survey Corps marching in and I always remembered the broken looks on their faces. Ironically, they were the ones that hated me the most, right along side the Wallists. Funny really, they hated me more then they hate each other, they certainly weren't complaining when they through rocks at me side by side. Its human nature; anything that's different is fear, humans hate what they fear and the gather behind it. It's why no one leaves the walls with the exception of slavers, but their worse than regular humans."

"I...I don't know what to say..." Hanji admitted quietly, bowing her head with a hint of guilt, only to get lightly kicked in the back of her head. Glaring up at Eren, Hanji was caught off guard a little when Eren glared right back at her even more intensely while pulling something out from under him. Snorting and causing another puff of steam to escape his nostrils, Eren fiddled with the bamboo pan flute in his hand, having forgotten that he had left it in his hammock yesterday. It was a simple one made up of nine pipes of varying lengths, but it was painted snow white with red tribal dragons coiled around the length of each pipe with the ends delicately carved into the shape of the gaping jaws of each dragon. Suffice to say, gathering materials to even make paint was a trying experience, especially making it by hand.

"Then don't say anything at all." Eren mumbled as Hanji pouted childishly and looked away while the red head brought his pan flute to his lips after a moment of thought. Hanji's eyes widened slightly when she heard music and glanced back at Eren to find him playing his instrument, his eyes closed as he played a song of his own creation. Closing her eyes and letting the sounds wash over her, Hanji couldn't help smiling slightly as a pleasant warmth filled her. Cracking his eye open after a few minutes, Eren's eyes softened slightly and his lips twitched upwards into a small smile. She'd fallen asleep to the tune of "Frieden" or Peace, her face was turned to the side with a small line trailing her chin.

_She looks rather cute with that expression._

Quietly, he tapped her forehead with his tie, snickering when she twitched, and continued to do so with slightly increased force each time.

"H-ha! hmm? Wha-?!"

Unable to stand it any longer, Hanji jumped awake while swinging her head vigorously, whining pitifully while Eren's deep, booming laughs sounded off from behind her. Gritting her teeth with anger fueled by sudden deprecation of sleep, Hanji realized that Eren had just been teasing her while she slept. Seeing only red at that moment, Hanji slowly forced herself to stand on numb legs while walking over to stand beside Eren's hammock. Without warning, she grabbed the edges of the hammock and flipped it over.

"AH!" Letting out a startled cry as he was unceremoniously dumped out of his hammock, Eren just barely rolled out of the way of Hanji's foot as she stomped down on the spot his crotch had been just a moment ago, but his laughter merely continued as he stood up a bit unsteadily while holding his aching ribs with one hand, his flute held in the other. He didn't have time to react, however, when a white and brown blur slammed into him, tackling him to the ground and knocking his flute out of his hand. Straddling his waist, Hanji raised her fists to start wailing on the pale skinned asshole that had thought it would be funny to tease her in such a way, but before they could make contact, the Survey Commander found her wrists held in Eren's much larger and much stronger hands.

"Grr! Let me go, you bastard!" Hanji snarled as she struggled to break free, only causing Eren to gain a shit eating grin.

"Why don't you make me?" He taunted playfully before leaning up and doing something that caught Hanji completely off guard. He would later look back on that moment and wonder what it was that had provoked him to do such a thing, but he would never find an answer...

"Fine then, you ass-" Hanji's pissed off retort was cut short as their lips met in a brief kiss, causing Hanji's eyes to go as wide as they could go while her face suddenly flushed a dark crimson. Still grinning a devil may care grin, Eren leaned back, only for something else to happen that caught him off guard this time. Hanji would never admit it, but she'd never been kissed before. Everyone thought she was crazy and she always focused on her work. The sensation of lips pressed against one another, especially from such an apex specimen had an unforeseen effect.

So, with her mind still clouded with sudden sexual frustration and the denial of gratification, Hanji had proceeded to stop struggling against him and laid down on top of him, pressing her lips against his in a second kiss, this one being filled with passion and lust. Unable to resist at first, Eren let his eyes close and started to return the lip-lock, but when it came time for them to break apart for air a couple minutes later, Eren regained his senses and tried to push Hanji off of him without breaking her spine by accident.

"Han-" He was cut short when Hanji kissed him again before nibbling on his ear with an irritated growl.

"Shut up. You caused this. Now..." She paused momentarily to sit up a little more and stare directly into his eyes with their lips being millimeters apart, her finishing words whispered huskily. "...Fix it..."

Hanji had to force herself not to add a desperate 'please' to the end of her statement, but being stubborn and headstrong, she refused to be resort to begging, no matter how painfully aroused she became...

"..." Eren was silent for a few moments as his mind reacted to the sudden stimulus. Within the deeper reaches of his brain, a small portion of his mind, the instinctually driven section, came up with the only solution to the problem; 'Fix it'. Hanji watched as another grin formed on his face, this one being smaller and more unnerving than his usual ones, before he suddenly rolled over on top of her, pinning her to the ground under his much larger size and weight as he captured her lips in another kiss, coaxing out a long and drawn out moan of approval from the older woman, her hands having been pinned to the ground above her head by the pale humanoid. "I was going to suggest that we move this to the bedroom. It'll be more...comfortable there." His words were accented by a burst of steam that made her skin shudder.

"..." Hanji, unable to find her voice and left breathless from the last kiss, could only nod slowly and numbly as her cheeks burned with another fierce blush, idly wondering what she had just gotten herself into as Eren stood up with her in his arms, her wrists pinned behind her back and held in Eren's left hand while he held the back of her neck with his right, her legs tightly wrapped around his waist as they engaged one another in a battle of the tongues, both fighting the other for dominance, something Hanji was quickly losing as she struggled to free her hands. Through memory alone, Eren managed to make his way to his bedroom without much of a problem despite the brown haired distraction in his arms that absolutely refused to be ignored and seemed to demand his full attention at all times. Losing his grip on her wrists for only a split second, Hanji took full advantage of it to pull his pants off, which fell to the floor in a forgotten heap halfway between the brown bear fur 'door flap' to Eren's room and the bed.

"Mmmm!" Moaning deeply into Eren's mouth as he laid down on the bed on top of her, Hanji's hyper-sensitive skin reacted to the soft and intoxicating feel of the wolf fur, nearly sending her over the edge as she gripped Eren's shoulders. Tugging on Eren's bottom lip with her teeth as they pulled apart for another breath of air, Hanji pushed him up a little before reaching down and grabbing the hem of her bandages, pulling them off in a frenzy of fingers. As they engaged in yet another heated kiss a moment later, Hanji managed to gain just enough leverage to roll Eren over onto his back with her on top of him, only for her eyes to roll back in her head as another moan escaped her. Still fondling Hanji s right breast with his left hand, Eren channeled a touch of his Inner Flame into his hand while sitting up and taking the nipple of Hanji s left breast into his mouth, the heat of his Inner Flame sending unexpected waves of pleasure through the scientists body that were only intensified from him suckling her other breast. "E-Ere...Ngh! Oh, God...D-Don't sto...stop..."

Pupils dilating thinly, Eren started to lose himself amongst Hanji's pleasured grunts and groans, his instincts screaming at him to mount the woman. However, he still retained rational thought through some miraculous event and knew better than to do anything she didn't want to do. Such restraint, however, was quickly thrown out the window when he felt Hanji's hands fumbling with 'Little Eren' as their lips met in yet another passionate make-out session, making him smirk against her lips while a similar one formed on Hanji's, both letting themselves get lost in the moment, the aftermath and consequences be damned...

XLine BreakX

"I'd kill you right now, but..." Hanji trailed off for a moment, blushing fiercely as she glared at Eren from across the room, lying on her back on the bed with a very comfortable and soft wolf fur blanket covering her naked form. Her blush intensifying, Hanji looked away as she continued with what she was saying. "But I can't feel my legs...Asshole..."

Eren resisted the urge to flinch, the feeling of shame and guilt rose up in his chest with burning heat that made his Inner Flame seem tame. He was already dressed in his formerly discarded pants.

"... Just so you know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push things so far... I lost control there..."

"So I've noticed..." Hanji growled out with an even darker blush as she referred to Eren's ungodly stamina, still refusing to look at the younger pale skimmed man. Sighing quietly, Eren started stretching his muscles, sitting at the end of his bed. As he continued to quietly watch her, Hanji stared at the back of her first lover as strange feelings and foreign emotions tugged at her chest, leaving her rather scared and confused. Despite being so abrupt and unexpected, Hanji had thoroughly enjoyed the entire event and had been quite surprised, but thankful, when Eren had been gentle and patient with her, taking care not to leave her pregnant. She had no regrets, knowing that she couldn't have found anyone else more caring than the Olympian in front her even if she spent the rest of her life searching, but a part of her couldn't help fearing that it had all been meaningless to the pale being...

"You can take a dip in the lake if you want. That's how I get cleaned in the morning. Fenrir and Freya won't be back until noon, so I'll be out on my morning jog." Eren spoke up after several minutes of silence, cutting into Hanji's thoughts as sighed. Pausing at the doorway without looking back at Hanji who was now sitting up while clutching the covers to her chest, Eren said something else that made Hanji s heart flutter and skip a beat. "I am sorry if I offended you in our first meeting, Hanji. Even if you decide to leave while I'm gone, you will always be welcome here. This place is now just as much your home as it is mine..."

"..." With that, he was gone and Hanji was left speechless in his wake, a look of honest shock and surprise on her face as she stared at the now-motionless bear fur that hung down in front of the opening. A small smile of genuine happiness formed as her eyes watered slightly with tears of joy, letting her mask fall completely in the sanctuary she had lost her virginity in. Although in a round-about and rather unorthodox, but pleasant way, Hanji had found acceptance with another person. Maybe not love, but she had another precious person and, apparently, so did Eren. Forcing her emotional mask back into place while she hurriedly dried her eyes before Eren saw them, just in case he came back into the room for something, Hanji decided to see if she could make it to the lake for a nice cool bath. Moving to the edge of the bed, Hanji experimentally put her bare feet on the smooth and level natural stone that made up the floor, shivering slightly from the cool feel of it on her warm soles.

Biting her bottom lip as she smiled at the memories of how she lost feeling in her legs, the human threw the blanket aside and slowly pushed herself up until she was standing, noticing how she was still a bit sore, numb, and weak, but still capable of standing and possibly walking, which was proven correct after making her way to the lake. As she turned on the water to the shower and let it heat up before stepping under the warm streams of liquid, Hanji's mind traitorously flittered back over to the Olympian as he vanished into the tunnel leading outside, making her frown slightly as she thought about how he might feel towards her and what happened between them yesterday, last night, and earlier that morning. Now that she actually thought about it, her lack of proper feeling in her legs really was her own fault. Out of all nineteen rounds, she had been the one to instigate every last one; she was actually a bit surprised by her own stamina, considering that she had never had sex before, but she blamed it on her training.

_I hope this isn't some twisted dream or a trick. I don't know what I'd do if it was... _Hanji thought to herself, suddenly feeling vulnerable, a feeling she loathed and despised with every fibre of her being.

Shaking her head and relaxing into the water, Hanji let herself bask in the crystalline cool water and warming sunlight.

She fell asleep seconds later.

XLine BreakX

"Stupid! Stupid! STUPID! HOW COULD I DO THAT?! I USED HER! JUST LIKE HE USED ME!"

Breathing heavily out of self loathing and shame alone, Eren let his hand drop back down to his side, oblivious to the fact his eyes had turned into soul-piercing neon slits cut in obsidian stone during his bout of fury. Snorting out a large cloud of white steam, Eren spun around on his heel and stormed off deeper into the forest.

His mind blank with irritation, Eren didn't realize he had shifted into his Titan form until a roar of rage escaped his maw, a massive cloud of steam accompanying it. With renewed anger, Eren, clad in the flesh of a giant, sped off without direction, blindly barreling through trees and Titans unlucky enough to get in his way.

If he had a clearer mind he would've realized he was headed towards the Walls. If he had been paying attention, he would have seen the terrified horsemen fire off a purple flare.

XLine BreakX

Eren's infuriated by the idea of being like his father and now he's been spotted! And he got laid to!

The next chapter is going to have a portion devoted to Levi as well as Eren's little brother, Cain, who I've been thinking on how to expand with.

I know I haven't explained the story behind Fenrir and Freya yet, but that comes soon enough on its own.

Thanks for reading!

AtlanticFire Signing Off!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**In Between The Lines**

Disclaimer: I don't own attack on titan, all copyrights go to the creator, whoever that genius may be. So yeah... I don't own it, I wouldn't be writing this story otherwise.

XLine BreakX

It would be an understatement to say Levi Ackerman was having a shitty week.

It had all started with Hanji's death a week ago. That one stung deep down really. Hanji was his only real friend-not that he'd ever tell her, especially now-and losing her was like losing a hand. Everything just didn't feel the same as it used to.

It didn't help that Erwin-the shitty asshole he was-had dropped all of her responsibilities on him until they found someone capable enough to fill in the void of command. Dealing with his own division was hard enough without the traumatized remnants of a broken division piled on top. He even had to deal with her paperwork!

He shuddered at the thought.

He absolutely loathed paperwork.

"Captain Levi, look!"

Cold eyes sharpened on the purple line of smoke in the sky before the sentence was even finished. Purple was followed shortly by a trail of industrious black. He recognized what they meant-it was impossible not to.

Purple Flare; Emergency.

Black Flare; Deviant spotted.

Following the twin trails, his jaw clenched when he saw where it had originated from.

The Western Wing; Fourth Division.

"Tell everyone to hold their position now. The Third Division is with me." He didn't wait for a reply, they were smart enough to do as their told by now, and set off towards the flares origin with extreme haste.

He couldn't let this happen again. He already lost his only real friend, he was to willing to lose the Fourth Division; the epitome of her work.

A familiar surge of hatred burned within him as he felt the ground shake with rhythmic force. Levi clenched his fists as waves of shock ran through his body, and only one word came to mind, laden with impartial disgust.

"Titans."

XLine BreakX

_There were bodies, warm and heated bodies undulating together like a mass of heated limbs. There were moans and groans echoing the air, not of pain but of desire. There is heat and sweat and steam and pleasure. There is passion._

Then he recalled Hanji's words.

_"Shut up. You caused this. Now... Fix it..."_

Blinded by loathing, his Inner Flame reached entirely new feats as it spread through his body and into the massive exoskeleton. Steam vented out of every pore in Eren's body, completely hiding him from sight in a visage of blistering steam. Nearby the cloud of heat, Survey Corps members scattered, running from the steam, and even riding ontheir horses they could feel the searing heat burning their back. They were panicked and terrified, nearing a hysterical level of fear as the Deviant they could only describe as unholy roared with unrelenting rage. Some glanced back at the terrifying beast, but the cloud of steam was still snaking into the sky with a deafening hiss, hiding him from view.

Suddenly, the earth beneath there feet shuddered and all eyes widened in horror as they saw a silhouettes emerge from the pillar of steam.

He had no skin on his body, every step he took, his firm muscles rippled with strength, emitting an aura of raw might. Large elf-like ears of bone were as pointed as his skin missing in a maw of fangs, serpentine tongue obscured by a continuous haze of steam. It was as awe-inspiring as it was terrifying-they had never imagined anything like this could exist, even amongst Titans.

"EVERYONE RUN!" One shouted, though they were unprepared when the Titan kicked off the ground and started running at them, its footfalls sending large chunks of soil flying everywhere and leaving large craters in the ground. The sheer force of each step shook the very earth beneath their feet, and horses stumbled as they lost their balance on uneven ground.

They watched as he let out a bloodcurdling roar and soldiers clamped shut their eyes in fear as the Titan approached.

Behind their eyelids they felt a wave of intense heat and the shaking earth reach a crescendo before it began fading.

Everyone gawked in shock as the steaming beast ran past them, bashing through trees unlucky enough to be in its path. Their eyes got wider when they saw something-someone-wizz by its ear, followed by a trail of blood.

"I-it ignored us?!"

**"Graaaaaaah!"**

XLine BreakX

Eren's sharp ears picked up the sound of wizzing by his ear, the unnatural whining of mechanics, but it went ignored in his enraged state.

He felt disgusting. He loathed his father with every fiber of his being, and often wondered why he had never gone back and taken revenge, and had come short. At the time he had been curious of her-he'd never been close to another girl (Developed, at any rate) and that curiosity peaked when he had her in his grip. The kiss was to sate his curiosity, instead it had been so much more.

Looking at his current situation, he had come to the horrifying revelation that he had used Hanji like his father used him. As something to experiment on.

Abruptly, burning pain blossomed in his neck. Searing vapor sprayed violently as twin wounds healed over.

**"Graaaaaaah!"**

Suddenly, his anger reached its tip and he lost all control as his Inner Flame exploded swelled with the power of a supernova.

XLine BreakX

_Five Minutes Ago..._

Hanji yawned lightly, stretching as she wiggled her toes on the bed in which she'd lost her virginity. She supposed losing ones virginity at nineteen wasn't such a bad thing, not when so many more lost it much earlier.

She'd awoken from her very short nap, much to her annoyance, and had realized she had nothing to where. After a little wandering in the "storage room" as Eren had called it, she found what was apparently an oversized black shirt for men. She had also recovered her glasses, which she found on the bed in Eren's room.

It was a lot cozier then it sounded. Especially now that she wasn't wearing the absurdly tight clothing she did in the Survey Corps. It was the one thing she ever really disliked about them.

Hanji sighed with an odd mix of contentment and boredom as she pondered the "Mystery Titan" that had saved her not too long ago. Honestly, when she thought about it, Eren looked an awful lot li-

Suddenly, everything clicked into place.

Eren taking care of her when she had been saved by a Titan.

Pointed ears? Check.

Fangs? Check.

Green Eyes? Double Check.

She actually felt kind of stupid for not realizing it earlier.

Eren was the Mystery Titan she had been pondering. Honestly, it shouldn't have been that surprising. He was a Half Titan after all, Olympian as he preferred to be called. It wasn't an unreasonable idea that he could tap into the abilities of Titans if his bouts of steam were anything to go by.

**"Graaaaaaah!" **She jumped as a bloodcurdling roar of rage echoed through the cavern and her heart froze at its familiarity.

Eren.

Without so much of a second thought, she was already running out of the cavern tunnels, clad in nothing but an oversized shirt to protect her.

XLine BreakX

**"Graaaaaaah!"**

Looking back on it, attacking a literally steaming hot Titan hadn't been the best idea.

He'd seen a lot of things in his life, he'd grown up in the shittiest side of life. He had watched his friends die, whether they were choking on their own blood or eaten my smiling freaks made little difference. As he looked at the being before him, he could honestly say he was dumbfounded at the sight. He definitely wasn't shocked.

He didn't do shocked.

But when he saw the wound at its nape heal seconds after delivering the blow, he felt something an awful lot like it.

Steam came off of its skin even though it was not injured, but instead of slowly billowing off of it like usual, the hot vapor shot out in all directions fast and hard, as if it were escaping from the spout of a kettle. But this was not as surprising as what happened next. As quickly as they came, the jets of steam dissipated, instead being replaced by raw heat emanating from his skin. Angry red fissures formed along its flesh, viscous flames jutting from the volcanic cracks. The heat was so intense that Levi could see the heat waves distorting the light far beyond its own personal space. He started sweating profusely, and his eyes began to water. He had to struggle to keep his gaze on it because he could practically feel the skin on her face starting to burn.

"What the fu-" His breath caught in his threat when blazing blue eyes locked into to him with unparalleled rage.

**"GRAAAAAAAAH!"**

... It was just not his day.

XLine BreakX

Finding Eren was a lot less difficult then she thought it would be.

It was pretty easy to follow a trail of shattered trees.

Yet, even as her muscles screamed in protest, she powered on as fast as she could.

**"GRAAAAAAAAH!"**

Her head snapped up and what she saw stunned her speechless.

**"Leave...me...ALONE!"** Eren, clad in a flaming skinless Titan, suddenly bellowed, his eyes flaring an infernal white as he expelled an unbelievably intense blaze of fire than before, causing Levi-he was impossible for her to miss-to fall to the ground as it burned through his lines like they were wax. She was thankful that they had been trained ahead of time for falls such as his, and sighed in relief when he received no visible injuries or else things might have taken a turn for the worst, the gout of flames quickly incinerated numerous trees that were caught in its path.

That relief vanished, however, as Eren inhaled deeply, the intense glow of inferno emanating from his maw, as he glared viscously at Levi's fallen form. Just as he was about to release the stream of flame she reacted.

"EREN, STOP!"

The reaction was immediate.

Both human and Olympian paused, simultaneously, turning to look at her from the corner of their eyes.

For a moment, Hanji was caught up in the all-consuming terror of Eren's predatory blue gaze, her body locked up and her breathing all but stopped. But then relief poured through her system as his eyes flickered with recognition, white eyes fading to the softer green she was familiar with. The shroud of heat and fire receding as she approached him, leaving only a warm, skinless Titan.

As she locked gazes with Eren, Hanji heard a loud, familiar groan from him, before she found herself scooped up by two large hands. In any other situation, Hanji would've thought a Titan was about to eat her, but the deep, affectionate purr she felt and the gentle movements only made her smile.

Eren stared down at her in his Titan form, emerald eyes watching Hanji closely, and he released a small, concerned moan.

Laughing, Hanji gave his palm an assuring pat. "It's fine—I'm okay."

"Hanji?! What the fuck is going on?!"

Leaning to peer over Eren's thumb, Hanji saw the furious visage of Corporal Levi standing below with the others, most of them already equipped with their 3D maneuver gear. His composure completely lost as he glared up at the two of them.

"Sorry, Corporal!" Hanji shouted, waving her arm sheepishly. "My boyfriend is a...a little angry that you attacked him!" Both Eren and Levi stared at her with wide eyes and open mouths.

Levi's eyes suddenly narrowed, lips twisting into a scowl. "That's it, I'm done. You've lost your freaking marbles." Seeing the Titan glare fiercely at him along with Hanji's pleading pout, he bit back the shudder that almost went up his spine. Finally, he threw his hands up in exasperation. "Fine! Keep the crazy monster! Just keep that flaming pile of shit away from me." Their was no use fighting her and he knew it, if the crazy woman died it was her fault. Or maybe was also a little happy his friend wasn't dead?

... Nah.

Levi cursed his luck. He was going to report to Erwin and he'd be the insane one. "Just stay here, alright? I have to get Erwin for this."

Then he turned around to storm back to camp, his cape flowing behind him, and Hanji sighed in relief as she and Eren watched the short man leave.

Eren made another whine-like noise, turning his head to look down at her with worried eyes, and she shook her head. "He wouldn't hurt you... I think?" He just stared at her, and she chuckled nervously. "Anyway, you should probably..." The hands holding Hanji moved suddenly, causing her to trail off as she was lifted to Eren's face. To be honest, she were a bit anxious being this close.

From here, she could see nothing but him.

But she weren't scared...and judging by the way he was watching her, that was what Eren wanted to see for himself.

Smiling, Hanji stood up and reached out a hand to rest her palm against the Titan's nose, ignoring the heat of his steaming breath that swept over her. He tensed a bit, caught unaware, and Hanji's smile broadened.

"Don't worry, alright?" She told him, eyes softening as she lifted her other hand to brush over his cheek, "You're not a monster, Eren."

He growled affectionately, the vibration rumbling, and her heart swelled when she saw him close his eyes, nudging his face into her hands even more, almost knocking Hanji off her feet in the process.

"By the way," Hanji drawled, watching as he lazily opened one eye to look at her. She grinned back at him. "We're gonna need to have a talk about what we've got between us."

Out of the corner of your eye, she saw one of his pointy ears twitch, and her answer was a small growl while he gently nuzzled her.

Hanji just chuckled, stretching her arms out as far as they could go to embrace the Titan's face in a hug.

"I'll take that as a yes."

They stayed for almost half an hour; Hanji asking questions and even describing some of her experiments while Eren growled out his answers. He was unwilling to change back when so many humans were nearby. He was getting kind of nervous

"Oh, over there! There's some of my squad mates!" she said to Eren as she pointed to a small group of humans approaching from the east. "HEY EVERYBODY! I FINALLY GOT A BOYFRIEND!"

As they openly gaped at the fact their squad leader was riding in the hands of a fucking Titan, Eren approached them and offered a hand Hanji to get down.

When she touched the ground, her comrades were in her in an instant, pulling her away from the skinless Titan. "Captain! Are you okay? What's going on? Why were you in the hands of that Titan?!" her squad demanded.

Hanji just laughed them off. "I told you! He's my boyfriend, he saved me a while ago and we've been hanging out together since!" She exclaimed as she pushed them away and approached Eren.

Eren watched in some amusement as she crawled up his arm, settling on his shoulders where she gripped his hair for support. From there she simply rambled on about random subjects; typically about Titans and their behavior. It surprised him how inaccurate a lot of their information was. Didn't they know that Titans migrated in patterns? Apparently not.

"So how exactly do you get out of that?" Eren chuckled with mirth as her eyes glinted with curiosity. He gently picked her up by her shirt and set her down with equal care.

**"Get...back."**

As she backed away, Hanji eyes widened with awe as Eren dropped to his knees and bowed forward until his forehead was tapping the ground. His nape suddenly tore open with a mass release of steam and her jaw dropped when Eren stood our of the opening, pulling strings of flesh from his face as he did.

Eren ran a hand through his soaked, steaming hair in annoyance. "I hate it when this happens." Was all he managed to get out before he was tackled to the ground by a black and brown blur.

His eyes widened when he was pulled into a rough kiss and he reacted with equal vigor. It was nearly two minutes later when they were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

They parted with large blushes on their cheeks, or a glare in Eren's case. He recognized this human, Erwin was his name. He remembered the same impassive expression just like he remembered how he hadn't stopped his men from throwing rocks at him.

"What the hell do you want?" Hanji looked at Eren in surprise.

Erwin, to his credit, didn't seemed fazed by the hostile glare. "Do I know you?"

Eren's glare hardened, "I don't know. Does 'Freak' ring any bells? Or maybe 'Abomination'? No? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You didn't seem to care in _Shiganshina_." His words were laden with venom.

Erwin's eyes widened in shock. Memories of the pale boy his men took their frustration out on. "... E-Eren? How are you here? What happened?" His mind raced as he eyed the significantly taller being in front if him.

This only seemed to infuriate him. "Don't act like you suddenly _care_! You just stood by when they abused me! And for what?! Because my eyes were different?!" Eren clamped his mouth shut. He was certain he would attack him if he said anymore.

It was Hanji who spoke up. "A-ano... What is Eren talking about?" She shrunk under Erwin's dark gaze.

His eyes hardened as he looked at her. "Where were you?"

Hanji flinched, "I-I was..." But Eren cut in as he stepped infringing of her.

"She was injured and I saved her. You can't blame her for anything that happened. This is between you and me, Erwin. You want to talk? _Let's talk..._"

Erwin stared at Eren fit a long moment before speaking, "... Eren. I am not gonna beat around the bush, so I will get to the point. Are you a threat to humanity?" Erwin said seriously.

Eren growled in annoyance, his good mood soured. "I don't give two shits about humanity. For all I care, they can stay in the walls and live like livestock." He glared at Erwin, "Yet, somehow... I don't think I will be able to go home..."

"We don't have your power, we are nearly powerless before their strength and brute force. However we do have our ingenuity and intelligence beyond basic instinct. We developed devices called 3D Maneuver Gear-" Eren mentally snorted at that. He lived in the wild, he wasn't stupid. "-to use our smaller size to our advantage so we can better attack the one vital spot on a Titan. The nape of their necks. We use swords to cut into them, ending their existence." Levi demonstrated the device's capabilities swinging and grappling gracefully through the trees, as well as slicing off some branches.

"I would like your help, Eren." Eren frowned at Erwin in confusion.

"Why would I possibly help you?"

"Humanity has been wallowing in despair, powerless to its tormentors for too long. I want to give them hope, I want to defeat the Titans and show humanity the outside world. My job as the commander of the Scouting Legion, is to pave the way for Humanity's expansion, life outside the walls. Every step a Titan takes is a step we as humans lose. I am tired of losing, I want to win. So I ask of you, can you help all of us win? Can you help humanity advance?" The glance Erwin spared Hanji was not lost on Eren.

Eren was conflicted. Humans, by their very nature, were fickle and frail as they were cruel and judge mental. The fact that they were basically slaves to a gigantic wall wasn't helping their case. Why would he help them? On the other hand was Hanji; a human who he not only liked, but one he wanted to seek a relationship with. He knew that she would have to return eventually with or without him. Even I'd he were to leave, he was more than aware that they would not simply let him go. His life would be that of a hunted animal.

He would also be _lonely..._

_What should I do?_

Eren looked down, Erwin was still waiting on an answer, still staring directly at him with his hands behind his back. Levi was on a branch leaning against the trunk interested in his answer.

Eren looked up with an irritated glare and hissed out his answer.

"We both know I don't have a choice."

XLine BreakX

Later that evening, Eren could be found sitting in the forest around the cavern he called home.

The home he now had to leave. He didn't want to leave, but he had to. At this point it was inevitable.

Glaring at the tree, Eren glanced at his twitching hand. He now had four other humans aside from Hanji in his home. Both he and Erwin agreed that he had no intention of leaving him alone, especially after seeing what he was capable of. So they came to a simple compromise. He would take Hanji back to his home while they returned to the walls. The following day, they would follow them to said walls and he hadn't really said anything further.

Making a fist he closed it before shaking his head, it was time to move on to something else. He glanced at the moon, taking in it's position. He had about half an hour left before it was time to sleep. He already told Hanji where to find the food, namely the large store if fruits.

So for the rest of that time, he worked on his fire control. This meant practicing with his Inner Flame to help him with resistance. He was afraid of losing control like he had earlier today again. Once the time had passed, he immediately felt one more presence.

Yet, every time he concentrated on himself he trailed back to his situation, though, his transformation wasn't on his mind, either...

It was the person that had caused it, who he had used...

_She probably doesn't want anything to do with me. Not that I blame her..._ Eren thought to himself before sighing heavily and getting up, giving up completely on the idea of meditation, his head bowed slightly and gaze lowered...

"Eren?" The voice made Eren freeze and as he slowly raised his head and looked up at the person, he had to force himself not to act any differently than he normally would. "Are you busy? I...I want to talk about what happened..."

"Not really, no. I was meditating, but I can't really focus. How was dinner?" Eren asked, as he sat on the ground. Hanji gave a sigh as she sat beside him, giving him a kiss on the cheek before resting her head on his shoulder.

"Alright, speak. What's on your mind?" Eren spoke up after internally biting back the urge to run away.

"Well, I...I guess I should start off by apologizing about my behaviour that day. I guess I was a bit forceful at times and I didn't exactly give you the chance to calm me down, so...I'm sorry." Hanji finally explained as she rubbed her cheek up against his own. She squeaked in surprise when she found herself being lifted in a Eren's strong arms as he began to walk home.

Snorting out a puff of steam, Eren smirked again and shook his head, his reaction confusing Hanji and irritating her a little. "And just what's so funny? I'm trying to apologize-"

"-for nothing. Remember what I said when we first met?" Eren finished and then questioned, confusing Hanji a little more. Rolling his eyes, Eren slumped down before turning back towards the woman, who was looking up at him with wide eyes behind her glasses. "I like it when people stand up to me, so there's nothing for you to apologize for. Besides, I should have been more forceful with myself and made you calm down. Either that or I shouldn't have kept up the teasing like I did..." He muttered bitterly as they passed through the tunnel and came upon the path of river rocks that led from the shore down to Eren's island.

"..." Hanji blushed heavily while plopping down into Eren's lap, mumbling something incoherent under and burying her head in the crook of his neck when they passed the best skin cover leading to his bedroom.

"I said 'I didn't mind; You were my first and I loved it'! OKAY?!" Hanji yelled before her entire face turned a dark red, Eren's eyes going wide in surprise by what she had just said. Even more embarrassed by what she said, Hanji quickly looked away before she continued. "I don't know what it was that made me do it, but when you kissed me, I felt...I don't know how to describe it. It was like...a jolt of electricity that shot through me and suddenly, everything was so much clearer. Yes, you drove me to the brink with your teasing, but when you kissed me that first time..." Hanji continued to explain her feelings while Eren simply stayed silent and listened, eyes glinting with curiosity. She suddenly scoffed and rolled her eyes at a thought. "This is going to sound really cliché and cheesy, but I can't think of any other way to explain it. When you kissed me that first time, I felt like my life went from being stuck in a chaotic shit-storm of insanity to being in a peaceful paradise..."

"That doesn't sound very cliché to me. I mean, look at where we are right now..." Eren remarked, gesturing to his little hide-away, his home. Burying his nose in Hanji's hair, Eren tilted his eyes up and stared up at the screen of vines covering the hole in the ceiling, noticing how the moon was full in the dark night sky. "I never imagined that I'd ever find a place like this. _But I did. _And to be honest...I never thought I'd find someone that actually liked me for me..._but I did..._or at least, _I thought I did..._"

"Eren..." Hanji whispered with a look of shock and a bit of hope, wondering if he was talking about her or not. Snorting out a decent sized cloud of steam, Eren inhaled her scent, the mixture of honey and roses. It was then he decided to take a chance.

"Hanji?"

Her eyes met his with a light blush on her cheeks. "Y-yes?"

"Well... I've been curious about something for a while now." He moved his hand off her cheek and brushed it over the edge of her lips.

"C-curious about what?" She was shaking a little as he took his hand away and rubbed his back softly, but if it was from fear or excitement she didn't know.

"Just something about flavor." He wrapped her in a gentle hug as he leaned in.

His lips met hers gently, as though trying to show his feelings in a way words couldn't, and when she responded he guessed it had worked.

All Hanji could think about was how warm and firm Eren felt against her at this one moment, and how gentle and careful he was being as he deepened the kiss ever so slowly. Hanji's thoughts went totally blank when she felt something brush up against her bottom lip and she couldn't stop herself from parting them. The moment after doing so she felt something slip into her mouth and hesitantly brush up against her tongue and the only thing that went through her utterly blank mind was the sweet taste in her mouth and the feeling of Eren pulling her near limp body closer as her eyes slipped shut, enhancing this moment of sweetness she was experiencing.

They remained like this for about two minutes, two minutes of Hanji experiencing pure bliss while Eren's mouth flooded with the taste of sharp strawberries, no doubt from the fruits she had eaten earlier. And while he took his time, not pushing too much or forcing her to keep going he flicked his tongue around in her mouth until he hit one spot and noticed a sort of natural sweetness behind the strawberries, one that made his skin prickle with giddy Goosebumps. And once he pressed up against that spot again, only deeper this time, the flavor shot up making him smile into the kiss as he laid back, letting Hanji hang limp on top of him as they kissed.

Soon though they both had to breathe and Eren pulled back, finally letting Hanji's brain turn back on as they both breathed heavily "You…that was…" She couldn't even finish the thought let alone the sentence with what little brain power she had at the moment.

"Hmm, guess I was right..." Eren mumbled with a humorless smirk and a slight shake of his head as he wrapped his arms around her. "Deep and emotional thinking just doesn't suit me very well."

"Well...I think it does..." Hanji mumbled out into his chest, her words going unheard as she, once again, averted her gaze to somewhere other than Eren. That was when Hanji thought of something, wanting to redirect the conversation from melodramatic emotions to something more lively and entertaining. Like a game.

"Hey, Eren. Do you know how to play Twenty Questions?" Hanji inquired while seemingly pulling out a couple dice from thin air. Cocking an eye brow, Eren slowly shook his head negatively, uncertain as to what Hanji was planning. Said woman only started grinning impishly. "Don't worry; I'll teach you."

XLine BreakX

Eren woke with a great feeling of warmth in his chest. Seeing the chestnut mop of hair buried in his chest only intensified the feeling.

It was the most peaceful sleep Eren had ever had before. He quite enjoyed the comfortable sleep. Hanji was a quite sleeper. She never danced around the bed while she was sleeping. She only slept quietly. She was also peaceful and ''cute'' when she was asleep. You could not say that a sleeping Hanji is the same as the one who is always hyperactive and curious of the world around her.

He was happy that he had gone through with this. It was most surprising that she had even wanted to sleep with him again, but after their talk he guessed he understood. He did not think that a human would be anywhere near, let alone with him. But then again, Hanji was different. The fact that she hadn't been fazed by his appearance should've made that point obvious. Her curiosity towards his condition did not make him like her any more less. In fact, he longed for her even more. Now he had her, she was his girl now.

He remembered everything he had learned about her. She loved fruit, strawberry in particular. She had a peculiar infatuation with Titans. She loved learning things that no one else understood. She loved the moon and the stars. She secretly adored flowers and so much more that made her special to him , not only as a human, but as a person.

He remembered the hilarious look on her face when he told her he was fifteen and the equally surprised look on his face when he learned she was nineteen.

He also recalled her last question.

_Will you be my boyfriend?_

He also recalled she had already called him that, but his answer had been immediate.

_Yes._

The sex that came afterwards was, to out it simply, amazing.

_Sweat. _Passion. _Moaning. _Pleasure. _Climax._ Love.

_Love._

That's what had been born that night amongst a mass of tangled limbs and passionate cries of ecstasy. Perhaps not a stable love, but it was new and still needed time to cement its roots.

The thought sent pleasant shivers down his spine, and as he wrapped his arms around her waist, he simply watched her with a gentle gaze.

XLine BreakX

"Hmm~" Hanji moaned as she awoke with an odd mix of contentment and excitement, currently finding herself held to Eren's warm body by strong arms, who looked to be asleep still. While they could have gone much longer, Hanji hadn't thought it a good idea to return home with useless legs, Eren had conceded to the point. Like the last time she woke up in his bed, she was stark naked while Eren's body more than warmed them up so they hadn't needed a bed sheet if any sort.

Looking around Eren's bedroom and actually paying attention this time, Hanji saw things she hadn't seen last time. One wall was completely hidden behind a couple bookshelves of similar design as his dresser, each one completely filled with old books, while on the wall beside the bed, there were a handful of shelves that held a number of objects. That was when her eyes caught sight of a plaque next to the shelves.

Gently slipping out from under Eren's arm and getting out of bed, she slipped a pair of bra and panties one of the corps had been keeping on hand (She didn't bother asking why. Everyone had their quirks) and walked over to it and found it to be a beautiful pair of black swords, both easily longer then she was tall. The only time she had ever seen anything like this was in children's storybooks. She saw words

"'Like stars in the sky, these blades will cleave a path of fire.'. Wow... Impressive." Hanji muttered before she noticed identical words carved into the center of each blade and proceeded to read it out loud to herself, but quietly so as not to disturb Eren. "'Sternbrand'? What does that mean...?" Gently lifting the one of the blades, both were named Sternbrand, from its cradle, Hanji tenderly held it in her hands, only to gasp quietly when she realized just how well-made it was along with the design on the blade, which had a long blue bar in its center. Most swing was the fact that it weighed little less then a feather. From the bed, Eren couldn't help smiling slightly, glad to know that she liked them; they were his greatest creations. He had woken up almost as soon as she slipped out from under his arm and, after seeing what time it was, had simply watched Hanji as she was distracted.

"Do you like them?" He asked suddenly, making Hanji squeak and jump slightly out of surprise. Blushing furiously, Hanji set the blade back on the stand before turning back around to Eren, nodding slightly.

"Yes, they're beautiful." She answered before suddenly shivering a little bit, finally noticing that it was a bit chilly in the room. Crawling back into bed, Hanji quickly snuggled up against Eren, who was always unnaturally warm and made her think of him as a human space heater. Looking up at him as she started to warm back up, Hanji rested her chin on his chest. "Where did you find them? They must have cost a fortune."

"I didn't find them and I didn't buy them. I made them." Eren's answer shocked Eren to her core, prompting him to give her a fanged smirk at the look on her face. "What? You think I have that anvil and metal out there for decoration? I've been forging weapons for almost six years, Hanji. I originally took it up in order to better train my Inner Flame, but it eventually just became a hobby. Besides, I live way outside of the Walls, where would I possibly get these?"

"You're really amazing, you know that?" Hanji mumbled with a huff before resting her head on Eren's chest, pressing her body flush against Eren's with her hand resting on his chest, a small sigh of contentment escaping her as she smiled softly, "How did you even make them? They felt lighter than the blades I use in the corps?"

Eren chuckled, "That's a rather interesting story..."

XLine BreakX

_Flashback Begin..._

_It was night and a meteor shower was happening. Eren, along with Fenrir and Freya were watching the shower as streaks of blue and white zoomed across the sky. "Wow, this is amazing to watch." Eren muttered softly with a look of awe. "Kind of makes you realize how insignificant we are." He mused._

_Fenrir and Freya huffed in agreement as they gazed at the stars. It was a truly humbling thing to see._

_There was a brief flash of light and Eren saw one of the meteors come flying down from the sky. "Oh man, something tells me this is gonna be interesting." Eren told his companions as he stood up. The meteor flew over their heads and crashed somewhere behind a hill. They quickly hurled themselves into a run towards the smoke._

_As he reached the smokes source his mouth dropped open in awe._

_"This... I've never seen anything like it." Eren muttered, mesmerized by the crater before him. The meteor had crashed into a field next to a large creek. The crash site had been set ablaze with radiant blue fire. The meteor itself was nearly half his overall height which, to say, was a lot and twice as wide. It held a dark blue hue that he'd only ever seen in the night sky._

_He sat down and stared at the meteor thoughtfully, his furry companions sitting on their haunches right behind him. It was impossible to take the meteor right now. He was highly resistant to fire, that did not make him immune to it, especially not against the fire of a star. He could feel the heat twenty feet away. If he couldn't take it now, their was only one option._

_He would wait._

_It was a surprisingly short time later that the flames finally died, a few hours at most, and the sun had already begun to dawn. He approached the rock at the center of the crater, the burned earth was warm between his toes._

_The meteor was warm to the touch, he had no doubt that it would sear human fingers, but he was not human. In a show of inconceivable strength Eren wrapped his arms around the fallen star and hefted it off the ground, up onto his shoulders._

_He looked towards the east, the stars were a useful map, and sighed._

_"This is gonna be a long walk._

_XLine BreakX_

_As he planted the meteorite on the ground next to his forge, he knew what he would use it for._

_He'd make a sword._

_Blacksmithing was a common craft in the Walls, but sword-making? It was forbidden and with good reason. What King would want the rats at his doorsteps to wield swords?_

_He'd tried several dozen times to recreate the swords from the fairy tails in his books before something even remotely similar to a sword came out and several more to make a sword that could be used. Their were small tips in the art, each with its own importance. How the hammer struck the metal, how much heat a blade could handle before it bended. He refined his skills until making finely tuned blades was merely a pastime. Of course, finding the ore for such pastimes was easier than expected. The caverns he lived in spanned several miles deeper then his own home and probably deeper, he'd never actually gotten to the end yet. Their was only one problem._

_He couldn't use any weapon he made. His hands were too strong and the iron was too weak, simply gripping the hilt would warp it with finger marks, slashing tore it completely off._

_Fenrir was terrified of swords to this day._

_He needed something stronger, more durable than any metal he had ever touched. Eren slammed his fist into the meteor as hard as he could, and his fingers burst in a haze of steam._

_Despite the pain of crushed knuckles, Eren's grin couldn't have been wider._

_He would make the strongest blades on earth; Swords born from a star._

_He set to work. He started up the forge and kept it going by shoveling coal into it until it was hot enough to stand on its own for a while. He brought the meteorite next to the forge and had Freya fetch the hammer and chisel._

_He brought the chisel forward and held the chisel over the meteorite while he drove it in with his hammer. The simple task took nearly an hour, even with his herculean strength. After that was done, he grabbed a smaller hammer and chiseled away smaller fragments of the meteorite. It was hard work, even more so with the forge going behind him and making him steam._

_He found the blue hue of the meteor was merely a shell not even an inch deep, probably caused by that star fire, that gave way to onyx black ore._

_He placed the shell aside for later and continued pounding away._

_He finally broken the meteor down to a pile of chunks, placed half of them into the forge and he took to working the billows._

_The smelting process took all night, but he never left the forge. When he awoke from sleep, he would get back to work by putting more coal into the fire. By the time morning came, the ore of the meteorite had melted down into liquid. He pulled out the crucible with a pair of tongs and poured it into a mold of a greatsword, a large weapon he'd seen knights in the pictures of fairy tails wielding. He hammered the metal into shape, including a groove in its center, and once he felt it done, plunged it into a barrel of water, cooling it._

_He then took the meteors shell and melted it down until it to was a molten liquid. The process took nearly two full days._

_Taking the melted material, he carefully filled the greatswords groove with it. As he cooled the metal, he took his chisel and paused._

_Now he needed a name._

_It was a habit of his. One of the older books of his collection was on a different language called 'German'. He liked the way the words rolled of his tongue and he needed a trademark for his art pieces, even if no one would likely ever see them. So along the blade of every sword, he chiseled a name into them; a mark that would give it life._

_This one, however, needed a unique name, something special enough to match it. He briefly remembered what he thought when he observed the meteor._

_'He was highly resistant to fire, that did not make him immune to it, especially not against the fire of a star.'_

_'The fire of a star.'_

_'Sternbrand.'_

Star Fire.

_Once the actual blade was done, Eren took out a piece of white cloth and wrapped it around the hilt. He repeated the strenuous process with all of the remaining ore._

_By the time he was finished, he realized he spent just short of week in his forge with the occasional meal bought in by Freya. As he gazed at the pair of swords, only three words came to mind._

Totally worth it.

_The sheaths were dark blue, but otherwise plain. He took the hilts into his hand and gently nudged them out their sheaths._

_Even though he'd seen it a dozen times, he was still awed by it every time._

_Each blade was five and a half feet in length and surprisingly light in his hands. The distinctive dark hue glimmered against the light of the forge, the dark blue groove with the indentation "Sternbrand" spelled out in fanciful letters. He gripped the white, cloth-wrapped hilt a little tighter as he took a few experimental swings._

_With a small blush, he struck a grandiose pose shamelessly and proclaimed, "I am the knight Artorius! Face me, Fiend, and be vanquished by my hand!" He slashed the greatswords in wide arcs, marveling how they seemingly cut the air._

_The sound of crashing metal caught his attention and he realized only too late his anvil was in three different pieces._

_"SHIT!"_

_Flashback end..._

XLine BreakX

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Hanji's brown eyes closing contently. "Mmm...You're really comfy, you know that?"

"I'm what?" Eren muttered quietly with surprise, actually blushing a little. Being called 'comfy' wasn't something he was used to hearing. In fact, it was the first time anyone had called him that or anything close to it. However, instead of answering him, Hanji yawned tiredly as the warmth coming off of him was starting to lull her back to sleep. Turning over on her side with her back to him and curling up slightly with her head resting on his shoulder, Hanji started dozing off. Smiling slightly, Eren hesitantly rolled onto his side as well and wrapped an arm around the small female, holding her flush against him. It was still kind of early in the morning and they hadn't gone to bed until late last night, so he guessed that a few more hours of rest wouldn't hurt. Holding her a bit tighter to him and making sure she was comfortable, Eren lightly kissed the side of Hanji's neck just below her jaw, making her smile sleepily and quietly mewl with approval. "Sweet dreams, Hanji..."

"Mmm...My Eren-kun..." Hanji mumbled softly before going silent once more, drifting off into a peaceful slumber while Eren blushed at the simple, but affectionate pet name. His blush slowly got worse, however, when he realized Hanji had called him 'her Eren-kun'. Deciding to just ignore it, Eren figured she had only said it because she was half-way between consciousness and sleep, thus, she just slurred whatever it was she was actually trying to say...That had to be it. Sighing heavily, Eren shoved those thoughts aside and buried his nose in her hair, closing his eyes as he relaxed and soon started to fall asleep as well.

XLine BreakX

Around two hours later, just as dawn was reaching the sky, Eren slowly woke up just as Hanji was getting out of bed, her movement being the cause that had disturbed his slumber. Silently watching as she headed towards the bathroom while taking her shirt off, Eren couldn't stop himself from staring at her nearly bare rear, but then again, he wouldn't stop himself even if he wanted to; her ass was simply too perfect to ignore and he was simply too shameless to _not_ blatantly stare. He was caught, however, when Hanji paused in the doorway to the bathroom for a moment to toss her bra behind her, only to find him staring at her. Although she blushed and looked a bit embarrassed about it for a moment, Hanji quickly gained a seductive smile as she took pride in the fact she had his interest while locking eyes with Eren. Not saying a word, Hanji kept her back to him as she pulled her hair tie out and let her hair fall freely to reach down just past her shoulder blades before slowly taking her panties off, bending over at the waist in an over-exaggerated way to ensure his attention was focused entirely on her butt, only to disappear behind the bear skin that hung down in front of the bedroom entrance, just as they did for almost every other doorway in his home.

"Damn tease..." Eren grumbled quietly with a mock pout before hearing the sway of water. Getting an idea and smirking mischievously, Eren got out of bed and started getting undressed as well. Sure, he was taking a big risk of getting his ass kicked, but he didn't much care about that; it's not like he wouldn't heal. Besides, he wouldn't have to take a bath later and it would give them more time to do something else. So, silently slipping into the water, Eren snuck in behind Hanji before suddenly wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her up off our of the water.

"AAHHH! EREN! YOU JACKASS!" Hanji screamed, only to start laughing, which kind of surprised the Olympian a bit. He had expected her to freak out and either kick him out of the water or try to beat the shit out of him, if not attempt both at the same time, but not for her to laugh. Not about to his chance for granted, he set her back down in the water, onto his lap gently as Hanji to looked up at him with a look of contentment.

They silently sat like that for awhile until Hanji spoke up. "You... Do you remember our conversation last night?"

Eren snorted as he nuzzled her head. "How could I possibly forget?"

She chuckled, "We were talking about what was going to happen to...You know, us. Did you know that you like to express yourself and your emotions a whole lot more when we have sex?" Hanji inquired while looking back up into Eren's eyes, smiling a bit teasingly. Grumbling under his breath with a fierce blush of embarrassment, Eren looked away. He did not know that little fact about himself. Now that he did, he could honestly say he had every intention of "expressing himself" more often. Focusing back on her self-appointed task of washing her lover's body, Hanji continued with what she was saying. "You said that you felt like a bastard because you think you used me. How you felt that you were like your father. That you expected to wake up one day with me in your arms, only to be disappointed when you realized that I left. You even admitted that I was your first lover as well...I still don't see how that's possible with how good you are."

"..." Eren said nothing as his blush only worsened while still glaring at the wall, something that made Hanji snicker, glad to know she was still able to tease him about something. While a bit difficult, she now knew that it wasn't impossible to embarrass the giant and she was going to enjoy herself while doing so on occasion. While she finished with him, Eren ducked back under the water to rinse off his hair before pressing his hands against her shoulders and giving her a brief kiss before she could attempt any sort of protest or objection. A moment later and it was now Hanji's turn to blush once more as Eren returned the favor by washing her body for her, pressing behind her as he did. She was silent for a couple minutes until after Eren was finished and she rinsed off, setting the bar of soap back in its proper spot on the wall. Eren stayed behind her with his arms gently wrapped around her, letting her lean back against his chest as they simply relaxed with the warmed water for the moment.

"I practically confessed my own feelings for you, too. I told you that the reason I didn't say anything at first was because I was afraid. I didn't know what I was feeling and it scared me. Plus, I didn't know how you felt about everything. I was afraid that what we shared that night meant nothing to you." Hanji paused slightly at that moment with a frown as she looked down, only to suddenly feel Eren's strong fingers cup her chin and tilt her head back before he captured her lips once again. Moaning softly into the tender and loving lip-lock, Hanji was left breathless and stunned when they broke apart after only a few seconds, her eyes glazed over as she stared into Eren's.

"What we shared, while unintended, is something that I'll cherish for the rest of my life, Hanji. For the first time, I was able to feel Love outside my pets and everything that came with it and not in a familial way, either. It was a love between mates. Whether we stay together or never see each other like this again after this, just remember that every time I look back on what we shared, I'll think of you and I'll smile. I know what I meant when I said yes last night, we can go at whatever pace you want, so long as you're happy. I know I am just by having you near me." Eren, who hadn't broken eye contact the entire time he spoke, finished by kissing Hanji again with more passion and emotion than before. Moaning softly, Hanji slowly turned around and pressed herself against him, neither one wanting the moment to end. As they slowly separated, Hanji couldn't stop the tears from welling up in her brown eyes as she smiled up at him. Seeing the tears, however, Eren started to worry that he might have said something wrong, but before he could try to apologize, Hanji pulled him down once more and gave him a soft kiss on the lips that lasted for only a moment.

"You said those same exact words last night, all the way down to the kiss. At first, I had thought it was just the guilt, so I didn't think much of it. Now, though...I know that it was your heart." Hanji trailed off for a moment to wipe her eyes and take a calming breath, unable to believe what she was about to say, letting her right hand rest on the left side of Eren's chest, directly over his heart, while she took his right hand in her left. Eren was surprised when she took his hand and placed it over her left breast so that it rested over her own heart, but not exactly in a sexual manner. "I'm not very good with words, so I'm just going to come out and say it, okay? I didn't know what it was that I was feeling, but after talking with you, I now know that what I was feeling...was Love."

"Hanji...What-" Eren cut himself short while Hanji smiled at him, taking another deep breath to settle her nerves as she gathered the courage to finally say it.

"I love you, Eren-kun..." She admitted softly. Eren's eyes went wide and he didn't say anything for several long moments, staring off into the distance blankly. Growing worried and a bit fearful because of her still lingering insecurities, Hanji tried to get a response out of him. "E-Ere-"

She was interrupted, however, when she felt Eren smash his lips against hers. Feeling his tongue press against her lips, she opened her mouth and allowed him access, moaning heartily as their tongues rubbed against one another. Slowly looping her arms around his neck and shoulders, Hanji felt that all-too familiar fire ignite within her core as she hooked one leg around Eren's hip and waist, pressing closer to him. Feeling one of his hands squeezing her butt cheek as he started groping her left breast with his other hand, Hanji grinned into his mouth while blindly reaching over and running her fingers on his hair, only to be pushed up against the wall a moment later, drawing out another deep moan from her. Eren then put his hands on Hanji s chest and pushed her back a bit while regaining his footing, catching her off guard and confusing her slightly.

"Dry off. We have to leave soon or Erwin will come for us...okay?" Eren ask softly, getting a look of supreme annoyance at the mention. Eren kissed her on the forehead, something that made her blush slightly. "We can finish our activities inside the walks, alright? Erwin can go fuck himself."

He felt "Little Eren" jump to attention when she got out of the water, smiling deviously as she left with an sway to her hips.

"I hate you so much, Erwin..."

XLine BreakX

"Neh, Eren-kun?"

"... Yes, Han-chan?"

"Would you transform for me?"

Eren sighed in exasperation as he continued running alongside Hanji's horse, clad in familiar black pants an cloak, a large pair of leather straps forming an 'X' on his bare chest. If anyone were to look under the cloak, they would be shocked by the five foot blades strapped to his back.

He was forced to leave Fenrir and Freya when he realized how people would react to them. Though it was a tearful separation, he had promised to return for them once things were settled. He also found it comical how Hanji reacted, practically leaping on his arms in less than a second.

"Not now, Han-chan. We both know that they wouldn't react well to a Titan of all things approaching their gates."

"C'mon, don't be like that..." Hanji whined with a childish expression.

Eren resisted the urge to face fault at her comment, as he had no intention of stumbling at such high speeds. Eren opened his mouth to reply when a sudden feeling of electricity jolted up his spine, causing him to nearly fall over. Hanji wore only a pair of tight brown pants and a white button up shirt, which he personally believed made her boobs look bigger.

Hanji noticed this and looked at him worriedly. "Are you alright?"

Eren's body shuddered, "I don't know. It felt like electricity rocketing up my spine or something."

"Hanji? What's the matter..." The words died in his throat at the sight before him.

An absolutely Colossal Titan standing sixty meters, well above the wall it leaned on, raising its foot in preparation for a kick.

When its foot met the wall, they felt the shockwave from over two miles away.

XLine BreakX

**YAY! We're finally getting to the main storyline! I feel so proud of myself for writing so much, my hands hurt a from typing so much in a single go! For those of you asking about the holes in my story, don't worry! I'll be addressing Cain and Mikasa next chapter, so no worrying about that! I've already decided on the direction of this story so now I'm just writing most of it out.**

**I'd also like to tell you how much I appreciate the reviews. Don't really care of their flames, as long as there constructive. So thanks!**

**THANKS FOR READING GUYS!**

**AtlanticFire Signing Off!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**In Between The Lines**

Disclaimer: I don't own attack on titan, all copyrights go to the creator, whoever that genius may be. So yeah... I don't own it, I wouldn't be writing this story otherwise.

XLine BreakX

The bright rays of the sun enlightened the entire sky, and marked the beginning of a new day for the people of Wall Maria. The loud shouts of roosters woke up many people who were currently enjoying their peaceful sleep.

The sound of birds chirping was heard in many places and slowly the atmosphere that was cold due to the night started getting warm, due to the warmth that the sun rays were providing.

As the sunlight spread around the area, the various buildings, shops and offices in Wall Maria, were now visible as the darkness of the night vanished.

"You were dreaming again, Cain."

A young boy of 10 years old opened his teal-green eyes as he got up and held his hand to his head, dark brown hair falling across his forehead. He glances up to see a girl his age gazing at him with an stoic expression.

"What are you doing here, Mikasa?" Cain Yeager asked quietly. The girl didn't reply and grabbed the carrier of sticks. Gazing at her for a bit, Cain stood as well and grabbed his carrier and the two left the field to return home.

"Why were you crying, Cain?" Mikasa wondered as they began their walk, now traveling through town. Cain's brow twitched and he gave a scoff.

"Ha, like I would cry! I'm not a baby Mikasa," Cain told her, but she just kept her gaze on him causing him to huff. "Don't tell anyone I was crying alright? It'll ruin my rep."

"I won't, but…" Mikasa shook her head before going on, "If you don't know, maybe you should talk to me about it." She suggested.

Cain looked at her strangely, "Eh? Why would you want to know? It's not like it matters or anything." He suddenly shuddered when he saw the icy glint in her eye.

"It. Is. Important." Mikasa glowered and she jabbed his chest with her finger to emphasize.

"Itai! What the hell, Mikasa! That stings!" He rubbed the spot he had been jabbed and sighed, "... It was just another dream about Onii-san." He muttered with a sad look on his face.

Mikasa eyes softened and she placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's okay, Cain. You'll find him soon."

Cain smiled with a determined glint in his eye, "Yeah, I will."

"What were you crying about now, Cain?" Both kids looked up to see a man in a guards uniform which was a light brown leather jacket with two roses on the back, and white pants with brown boots and a black under shirt. The man had short cropped blond hair and a light mustache, he was intoxicated too.

"Hannes-san?" Cain muttered as he and Mikasa stopped. "Why would I be crying?! Ugh!" Cain gagged as he covered his nose. "You reek of alcohol!"

He looked taken aback. "I'm not that bad!"

"Your drinking again?" Mikasa asked, turning to Hannes.

"Um, yeah," the man answered sheepishly scratching his head, not because of the question but because of Mikasa's stare. It made him feel a bit guilty. "We've been on guard duty all day, and we started to get hungry and thirsty,"

Cain and Mikasa still didn't ease up on the gaze. "What? It's not that big of a deal to have a little alcohol in our drinks." This seemed to annoy Cain as he growled a bit before speaking.

"If your drunk, how are you supposed to fight?" The boy asked and this earned a somewhat surprised look from Hannes, and a sharp glance from Mikasa.

"Eh? When are we going to have to fight?" Hannes wondered.

"Are you serious?! The day is going to come when they break the walls down and come in!" Cain shouted causing Hannes to flinch a bit and scratch his head.

"Dammit Cain, don't be so loud," The man said with a grumble.

"Ha, you got spirit kid, if they end up breaking the walls, we'll do our jobs," One of the guards behind Hannes added with a smirk. Cain gritted his teeth and shook his head. "They haven't broken the wall down in the past 100 years,"

"Still! My dad said that its times like these when we are in the most danger! Mikasa?! Don't you agree?" Cain demanded, looking to his adopted sister figure.

Mikasa turned her eyes to the wall with a longing gaze before she sighed. "Let's just go, Cain. Don't waste time with lazy drunks." With that said, she continued the journey home, leaving everyone gawking.

Cain was the first to recover, frantically running after her. "O-Oi! Don't leave me behind!"

XLine BreakX

"Cain, I don't think you should join the Survey Corps,"

Cain paused in his walking and looked towards his best friend with an incredulous look, "What? You think it's stupid don't ya?"

"I don't think it's stupid but…" Mikasa stopped due to the interruption of the town bell ringing.

"The Survey Corps is back! The front gate is opening. Lets go Mikasa, the real heroes have come back!" Cain grinned as he grabbed onto her hand and ran towards the front gate.

When they arrived there was a crowd blocking the way, making him growl as he hopped onto a pile of wood to get a better look. He winced when he felt his hand enveloped in a tight grip. Looking towards his right he saw Mikasa standing beside him with her hand holding his.

Glancing around he realized they were higher then everyone else, which was the perfect view because he could see the Survey Corps coming. Cain was grinning widely as he watched them stride along, he glanced to Mikasa however to see the oriental had a serious look of distaste on her face.

Looking back towards the corps out of confusion, his eyes widened when he finally zoned in on the shaken and...guilty looks on their faces? Though their weren't actually any injuries, which surprised him, they all had haunted looks on their faces. Cain could feel the tension and see the shaking in their postures.

"Moses! Moses!" Everyone turned their attention to the aged woman who stepped out of the crowd in front of one soldier. "Moses! What's the matter? Are you alright?" The woman said, her voice full of worry and angst.

The soldier, whose former expression of guilt turned red with embarrassment, shuddered at the memory of the flaming Titan he encountered earlier yesterday.

"H-he's alive..."

The mother blinked in confusion, "Wha..."

"He's alive."

"Moses what are yo-"

"EREN YAEGER IS ALIVE!"

Cain stood there stunned, his body stilled in shock. Beside him, Mikasa's eyes lit up at the proclamation, a small grin of childish delight painting her usually stoic face.

Others weren't so positive.

"T-The demon lives?" One, a Wallist, stuttered.

"Its alive!"

"We must purge it!"

"Kill the demon!"

"SHUT UP!"

All eyes turned to a furious Mikasa in shock. Her eyes almost glowing with murderous hatred, a cold expression of pure malice that stunned everyone, even Cain, with the sheer ferocity in her eyes. The look on her face sent a chill up there spines.

Cain recovered first, glaring at Erwin, "Where is he? WHERE IS ONII-SAN?!" Cain was only half aware of all the eyes on him.

"He isn't with us."

"Don't lie to him!" Mikasa hissed, earning everyone's attention. Cain turned to his sister figure to see a snarl on the girls face. "Eren isn't dead!"

They all then looked back towards the commander who looked away from them, his sharp eyes dulling with an expression of guilt.

"He will return with Captain Zoe tomorrow morning."

Cain's eyes lit up before grabbing Mikasa's hand and walking away, not noticing Erwin's sharp gaze on his back.

He had to tell his parents after all.

XLine BreakX

"Cain, have you changed your mind about joining the Survey Corps?" Mikasa questioned, but the boy ignored her as they made their way home.

Mikasa would glower at being ignored if it weren't the fact that he was coming back.

Her hand snaked its way up to her scarf, black and plain, to anyone else it was nothing special.

To her it was more important then anything else in this city.

She sniffed it, the nurturing scent of honey and oak soothed her nerves.

_I miss you Onii-sama..._

XLine BreakX

"OKAA-SAN!"

Mikasa sighed as she followed Cain into their home. Really, she could understand his enthusiasm, she was feeling pretty good herself, but was it so hard to not scream when she's right next to him?

Quietly, she slipped past Cain and went upstairs to her room, but not before glaring venomously when she saw Grisha Yeager.

She left quickly, otherwise she'd drown under the tidal wave of utter loathing rising in her chest.

She was going to have to sleep in Onii-sama's room tonight.

XLine BreakX

"Eren wake up. Your mothers taking me out to the market." An Japanese accented voice pierced the sacred serenity of the morning.

The alluded just groaned in response, turning sideways. The girl that came to take the sleep of the boy in the bed sighed in exasperation and walked to his bed. Shaking her head with a disappointed frown, the girl made her way towards the bed with an expression that could have rival an exasperated mandrill. She could just shake him awake but she elected to take the whole bed cover from the bed in a single motion from her hands. The now visible boy grunted in vexation covering his head with the pillow.

"Mikasa, its too early" Cain whined, his voice muffled from the pillow.

The girl acknowledged as Mikasa, pop across his bed and started to pull his feet with her right hand, having a difficult time pulling Cain out of bed.

"Knock it off, let me sleep." He retorted irritably answering with the pull of his feet to the opposite direction.

Mikasa's hand flew to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Alright, but you have to wake up later."

"Alright, alright. I'll be up when you get back." Answered Cain with another muffled yawn.

Slowly at first, Cain removed the pillow and sat upright stroking his tired eyelids with his fists while yawning. His brow tightened in a deep thought while ridiculously he stood there for things to make sense. He let her head drop into her hands and groaned irritably at her laziness.

Jade looked at the retreating back of Mikasa with groggy eyes, a tuft of his dark hair sticking up from having been slept on the pillow the whole night and half of the day. He sleepily slid herself out of the bed and stumbled across the floor almost tripping his legs against the nightstand in a direct trip to the bathroom.

Mikasa turned to the bathroom door. "Don't take too long Cain, Grisha left this morning so you'll be by yourself." All she received in answer was subdued tired mumble and the shower starting to pour water.

Cain stood against the door scratching his head for a few moments, cracking her neck he sighed and slid down the door. His eyes misted over and soon enough he was shedding crystalline tears.

"Okaa-san, Otou-san... Why?"

His parents had been no where near as thrilled as he was when he told them of his brothers eventual return. In fact, they were the opposite. His mother had lost it, berating him for 'Listening to the lies of scum' before locking him in his room for the rest of the day. His father had remained quiet, shoulders dropped and an emotion on his face Cain could only decipher as guilt. In the end, both had refused the possibility that their dead son wasn't so dead.

"Onii-San is alive and he'll be here today."

A low moan and a face palm later, he left the bathroom and went into his room, falling back onto his bed in a pitiful heap.

As Cain wiped the tears of his eyes he felt something off.

The breeze that met his face was missing.

BOOM!

Cain's eyes widened when he saw a blast of yellow lightning strike just outside the wall. The force and impact was so much the whole city shook, causing people to stumble or fall. He felt his body vibrate from his feet up.

Cain stood up and watched as people started to go see what had happened. Running down stairs, Cain looked out the kitchen window to get a better look at what was going on.

His eyes widened however, when he caught sight of a steaming red hand gripping the wall. Realizing what it was, Cain quickly ran to the front and grabbed his shoes.

Looking back towards the hand, he and everyone else saw the head of the thing that fueled his nightmares as a child.

"T-Titan?!" His body locked up with fear as the Titan raised a full ten meters above the walls. He snapped out of it too late when he felt a shock wave slam into him, knocking off his feet.

Cain wasn't fast enough to react when he saw a large bell-belonging to the Wallist Church-come careening into his home. He barely had a chance to move before the roof collapsed, colliding with his legs.

Intense pain accompanied the impact, Cain felt every nerve and fibre of his being convulse and burn. This lasted only a moment before everything seemed to simply cease to be, no pain or anything else for that matter seemed to happen. Cain felt like everything simply disappeared, leaving only his addled mind to try and figure out what happened.

'What happened?' Cain thought, feeling nothing. 'Am I… dying?'

XLine BreakX

"TITANS!"

In the madness that surrounded her, Mikasa Ackerman ran; as fast as her small legs could carry her, lungs burning with the need for air, near hysteric sobs escaping her lips. Even in a state of emotional shock, her pace didn't falter, not with the stink of death tearing at her heels.

Shiganshina District-her home, was drowning in pandemonium. The wall had been breached by some gargantuan monstrosity and now everyone was being slaughtered, eaten, and devoured. And because they mere humans-without power-were left at the merciless hunger of the Titans. They were too few and the enemy too many.

All around her, the town fell to madness. She didn't care much. The death of her adoptive mother-the only one aside from two others she cared for-was only too easy to remember. There hadn't been a cry or scream, just a sickening squelch as a meteoric mass of brick ground her body into the earth. She was trying desperately to not fall apart. But the hysterical terror reduced her to little more then a frightened wreck. So she ran. It was only her protective instincts that were leading her towards home. Towards Cain. She was a kid! She couldn't fight these creatures and Cain definitely couldn't! What could anyone-

She turned the corner and her heart skipped a beat when she saw her home.

Or rather, her collapsed home.

"C-Cain...CAIN?!" She screamed as she dashed towards the wreck that had been a house. Was Cain okay? Maybe she was out of the house and was looking for them?!

"M-Mikasa..." The weak moan causes as her hopes died abruptly. With strength beyond her, Mikasa heaved the chunks of the rubble and her heart plummeted as she dug him out, revealing his legs were stuck under the roof debris and his legs were more than likely destroyed.

"No!" Mikasa frantically began to lift with all the effort her body could put forth, muscles screaming with overexertion. The drag of wood against flesh tore at her hands but she didn't notice, too focused on saving her little brother.

"Titans are coming in. Eren! Take Mikasa and run!" Cain ordered as the ground shook with the heavy steps of Titans entering the district.

"I won't leave you!" Mikasa hissed through her clenched teeth as her grip tightened. She knew it was impossible to lift it but she'd never give up.

"My legs are freakin' mush! I couldn't move if I wanted to!" Cain yelled. Even though he was young, he knew he was pretty much dead. Even so, he wouldn't lose his sister too.

"I can't! I can't leave you! He'd never forgive me!" Mikasa yelled with hysteric tears in her eyes.

"He? What are you-" Cain's voice died in his throat as he saw a Titan looming over them, a grotesquely large grin on its disgusting face.

His breath hitched when he realized something was flying. In a feat a human could never reach naturally, a blur of white, black and blue spun right past the Titans neck and into the building parallel, the brick wall buckling under the intense pressure, and leaped to the ground with finesse, a cloud of dust obstructing there view of there would-be savior.

There minds went blank with shock as the Titan, who seemed unaffected prior, suddenly swayed in its place, stumbling on its own feet as it began its descent towards earth. Its face went slack and unresponsive before roll off its shoulders, followed shortly by two portions of its neck disturbingly similar to sliced ham. The body fell last, the steaming corpse crashing into the earth with enough force to shake the entire street.

"Too easy."

Both pre-teens visibly jumped at the soft declaration. The dust settled and what they saw stunned them for two entirely different reasons.

He-the giant of a man was most definitely a me-wears inhumanly pale, black hair shadowing his face, pointed ears poking out of the raven locks. His chest was bare if one didn't consider the leather straps across his chest, a black cloak attached to his shoulders and matching pants ended

But what really caught their attention were the massive swords-too similar to the ones knights wielded in fairy tails-colored an elegant mixture of black and blue, each easily twice their height in length yet he held them like they weighed nothing more then mere sticks.

His eyes turned to them, black and acidic neon green eyes piercing them. Mikasa let a smile grave her face.

It was Eren Jaeger, if there was anyone Mikasa cared for more then herself it was him, it was because of him after all that she was still alive. He taught her many things including her most important life lesson in this merciless world which was to always fight to survive in this world.

"He'll be fine." Were the first words she heard out of his mouth. Then he turned his attentions upon her. Perhaps she'd been in a trance too long because she didn't remember him being in front of her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Trembling, Mikasa managed a nod.

"You've grown up," He observed with a small smile. "So very different from the little girl I remember, Mika-chan." Mikasa felt a deep blush reach her cheeks.

"Eren-kun~!"

Mikasa openly gaped as a brown haired woman clad in simple white and clothing ran down the street with a gleeful expression on her face. Her ire only rose when the woman wrapped her arms around her big brother and they met in a kiss.

When they parted it was Eren who spoke, his expression tightening when his eyes caught his brother. "We need to get him out of here. Now."

Hanji's expression matched his at the sight, "Your right. Can you lift the debris up so I can get him out of there?"

Eren didn't bother with a response, instead he set his blades into the ground and grabbed the roofs edge with one hand and lifted it with a grunt, grabbed his brother, who had fallen unconscious from probable blood loss, and pulled him out, careful not to bother his mangled legs. He tore the pant legs and refashioned them as best he could into bandages to halt any further blood loss.

"Hanji, please carry my brother and both of you follow me. We must get to the ships or Cain is as good as dead." Eren whispered softly, the inklings of sadness leaking into his voice as he pulled up the hood of his cloak.

With great care, Hanji gently picked up the crippled child with a grim expression and together, she and Mikasa broke out in a run led by the sword wielding hybrid.

XLine BreakX

Even in such a grim atmosphere, both women couldn't help but be awed by the efficiency and brutality he cut down Titans. He jumped across the walls like some kind of ninja and shredded anything unlucky enough to cross the path of his monster-sized swords, seemingly unfazed by the movements that were otherwise impossible.

As he motioned them under the gate, ignoring the confused glances of the military as the portculis ponderously edged ever closer to closing. Eren spared Mikasa a glance and with a jerking sensation she found herself secured against his back. On instinct her fingers dug into the cloak and she sniffed it, the familiar sent putting her at ease almost instantly as she slumped against him.

She briefly recognized the woman-Hanji as she had told her-was in his arms, Cain cradled between the two in an incredibly cute manner if not for the large blades still in his hands, before the world blurred with a sudden torrent of speed.

Eren sneered as he kicked down guards unlucky enough to cross his paths, a majority were simply hiding on the other side. _Humans. They act like heroes yet cower in the face of danger._

Huffing to himself, Eren focused as steam hissed out of his legs and jumped with enough force to fracture the earth beneath his feet.

His lips curled at the panicked cries as he landed on deck, knocking over anyone close to him. He did not heed there protests nor there exclamations of fear, they could not see his face and he had something far more important to do.

He set down Hanji and, placing down his blades, lifted Mikasa off his back and sat her on the ground next to him. Carefully sheath his twin Sternbrand and gently took Cain from her arms, "Hanji, he's losing too much blood. I want you to grab a first aid kit and a transfusion kit now." She nodded and made off into the crowd in search of what was needed.

She returned shortly after with both kits in hand and both set to work with diligence beyond there years. Through all of this, Mikasa couldn't help but feel useless. After all, what could she do? She was not a doctor and she had failed completely in regards to protecting Cain. Even so, she wouldn't give up, she chalked it up to Jaeger family stubbornness infecting her.

With the basic treatment done, Eren assessed his brother again. His pulse was steady but too fast, and a check of the pulse points revealed a very good reason he wasn't waking-his pressure was too low. Cain's lips and eyelids were too pale, and his skin tone was middling shocky. He'd live, most likely, if nothing happened to send him further downhill, and if he could rouse far enough to drink something, but, best case scenario, he'd be off his feet for a week and off his game for a month.

Putting away the first aid kit, and making a note to restock on sterile dressings, Eren's eyes fell on the transfusion kit. 'If there was ever a time for it...' He sighed.

"He needs blood."

There was a silence as the information was digested. Eren remained silent as he waited for one of them to recognize the implications of that statement.

Hanji's eyes widened in realization, "You couldn't possibly-"

"Yes," He cut her off sharply, "Its either that or he dies. He's lost too much and you know it."

"A...ano," Both heads turned to Mikasa, who blushed at the sudden attention. "What are you talking about?"

The elders of the group looked at each other and Eren sighed.

"I need to give him my blood."

XChapter EndX


End file.
